kaerichi
by wai no feni
Summary: AU. She was the night he hunted. He was the night hunter she despised. But Fate has a way of twisting the cycle so that none of the darkness will be further recognized. [IchigoxRukia], among others.
1. That Boy

New fic, AU, meaning that I've taken large liberties with the characters but still hopefully presented them in a believable light. Some characters will be out of character from how we know them in the manga – but then again hey, this is AU; anything's possible :-D

Every chapter I'll also be posting relevant cultural notes, if any appear in the chapter. There's only one for this chapter: "onee-san" is a suffix that means "elder sister" and it is a respectful way to refer to a relatively young woman older than oneself.

This fic is rated R (or M, or whatever) because of language, violence, and sensuality. If any of the aforementioned offends you, please do not read.

Review if you like. No flames, please.

* * *

**kaerichi  
Chapter 1**

* * *

Slight and insubstantial, she would glide through the night like she belonged among that in which she hunted; like a wisp of memory, so faint was her trace that you could only imagine she had been right next to you.

And in all honesty, she preferred it that way. Never seen, only felt.

Very few ever saw her and lived to tell about it, and she rarely slowed enough for herself to be seen anyway. But this night – this night – her mind was on more than just the thought of her last meal.

_That boy…_ she thought, mind whirling with questions as she alighted upon the top of a telephone pole, _I can't believe it's him, but everything I saw…that boy…who was he?_

Stymied by thoughts that were quick to burden her pace home, Rukia failed to notice the form that suddenly shot at her from the right – she finally took notice when the creature was just a breath away, arms instantly flying to protect her heart as she was forcefully tackled. They nearly rolled over in the air, with she struggling to right herself when her balance was so disoriented.

Only when the spine of the other's wing was jammed somewhat painfully in her stomach did Rukia realize just who was at her.

"Hitsugaya! You asshole, get off me!"

"Tsk, tsk, what a mouth. You'd better watch your tongue around your elders, Rukia-chan," the other replied with a sly leer, disentangling himself, and then wheeling gracefully away from her swipe at him. "You ought to thank me, actually. If I was a hunter you'd be dead. At least I opened your eyes before a passing hunter could get a shot at you."

"Get the hell away from me," Rukia replied, reaching down to dust her skirt as both she and Hitsugaya extended their wings to come to the ground. "And how many times do I have to tell you – it's Rukia-_onee-san_ to you, brat," she said as she continued to dust at herself, though there was no visible filth to be seen.

"Aw, I'm hurt, Rukia-chan…I'm not that dirty."

"The hell you aren't; I know where you hunt."

"So? No one misses my prey," Hitsugaya laughed as he spread his wings out to their full extent, a modest twenty-five feet, which nearly spread out to both houses on opposite sides of the street they were on. "I don't know about you, Rukia-chan, always sparing your victims when you know that humanity has already condemned them a fate equal to death. Or actually, society has. You're a fucking vampire. We don't belong of society so why should I – or even you – care?"

"My reasons, idiot, are not and will never be any of your concern."

She told him that as coldly as she could as she finally stopped with her dusting, in the hopes that he'd leave her alone. There was enough on her mind tonight without the addition of one arrogant elder into the mixture. "And enough of the chit-chat, Hitsugaya; what the hell are you doing here?"

"Oo, someone's feeling forceful," he taunted. "But why are you asking me why _I'm_ here? These are my grounds. I should be asking you that."

Now that he mentioned it, Rukia did vaguely recall that she was in a section of Akasaka she normally cared not to hunt. In such a sleazy part of town, packed with bars and nightclubs every block, the only people around were either drunkards...or, worse, pervert assholes.

Of course, just because she didn't like those particular aspects of prey didn't mean other reveled in it – such as the pint-sized idiot in front of her.

"Sorry," Rukia said curtly, "didn't realize."

"Obviously so, if I could actually tackle you like I did just a few moments earlier."

"Don't let it go to your head, asshole. I was just thinking."

"Ah hah…so there's more to you tonight then you're letting on."

"I stand by my previous statement," Rukia said as she turned to go. Her wings rustled in the slight breeze as she prepared to run in order to gain some momentum.

"Where are you going, Rukia-chan?"

"Shut up and leave me."

Hitsugaya shrugged nonchalantly at her glare, aimed directly at him, with some of her mind will backing the gaze. His leathery wings cast a shadow beyond hers in the lamplight as he stretched them over his head…large, powerful, and just as immense. Rukia watched, unimpressed.

"Well, I assume, then, you're going home."

"It's almost dawn," she said.

"Right…" he drawled, "...as if that explains everything."

She turned away again.

"But while I'm here, I may as well tell you that the hunters are on your trail. It's all because you spared that last human idiot prey of yours. The other elders, especially Urahara, think that the hunters are figuring out how to track an aura. You never know these days, Rukia-chan, with all their advanced pyro-weaponry…so many newborns are being killed, and if the hunters have your aura – you're as good as dead."

"I've already _been_ dead for years," she replied in a bored tone, turning away again. Without another word, and without even running momentum, she thrust herself into the air, flapping madly for altitude, as she flew away from Hitsugaya and his prying questions.

And Hitsugaya watched her go, rolling his eyes in very human-like fashion, before running down the street and disappearing into the sky. Soon, the place had melted back into quiet. It was if they had never existed.

* * *

There were times when Hitsugaya was unsure if he liked being a kid or if he detested the restrictions it always placed on him. Sure, he always could get easy prey – but then again, he liked enjoying human life too, and it was kind of hard when people believed your bedtime to be 9:30 p.m. – rather than the 6:00 a.m. it really was.

He flew to his own home quickly. As he drew closer, he saw that the lights were on, making the apartment stand out from its darker counterparts. There was a slight figure at the door, back turned.

Landing on the balcony, his feet had barely touched ground when the balcony door slid open and Hinamori stepped out. She had probably been waiting up for him (though she'd never admit she worried about him to his face).

Her hair was down from its usual bun and she was clothed in her long pajamas with a hairbrush in her hands. "Hitsugaya-kun!" she exclaimed happily. "I didn't expect you to return so early. It's only 4:00."

Sighing, he gave her a small smile before stepping indoors. She followed.

"Is something wrong?"

He sighed again. "No…I just ran into Rukia earlier."

"…oh."

"The hunters are learning to track us down, and she still keeps being the stubborn idiot she always is, not caring if the hunters can track her, can already know her aura…if this keeps up they'll really kill her one day!"

"Oh really? And it thought that your exact words to me last week were "Do you think I care about her? Feh, she's too insignificant." Right, Hitsugaya-kun?"

"I _don't_ care about her. It's just that if she gets killed, it'll be more hassle for me."

Hinamori smiled gently. "…you're really too kind for your own good, Hitsugaya-kun," she said, brushing her dark hair in the mirror. "And I wish that you and Kuchiki-san would stop fighting. It's unbecoming of vampires of your ranks, you know." It was a not a rebuke; she was smiling.

"_She's_ always the one, not me."

"And I thought the elders were supposed to be wise." She smiled, putting the brush down, and turned to fiddle with a flower arrangement on the nearby table. He was amused at her purposeful lack of enthusiasm on the subject. She knew he'd always been a child genius and was smarter – and wiser – than adults three times his age.

Hitsugaya stood watching her for a moment. Then he walked over and embraced her from behind, skimming his lips down the side of her neck in a soft gesture, as impulsive as it was affectionate.

"H – Hitsugaya-kun…"

He turned her around and kissed her, the kind of kiss he knew from experience would make her knees weak.

It worked.

"Sh – Shiro-chan…"

He laughed quietly. "Been a while since I last heard that."

"Been a while since you last kissed me like that," she responded to him in a whisper.

He pulled her close once more before releasing her, going to change for bed. "Rukia should just be careful," he said, as he pulled the bathroom door closed. "Momo, you know and like her; it's just your kind of thing to knock some kind of sense into her the next time you meet." She smiled prettily at the compliment, unusually rare from him.

He closed the bathroom door.

* * *

The apartment she called her current home was decidedly average upon first sight; however, she cared little for the _place_, it was more a matter of what inhabited it.

Several years ago, Rukia had moved her place of residence from Ikebukuro to this relatively middle-class neighborhood on the outskirts of Akasaka, liking its priority to Shibuya, Shinjuku, and Ginza, all of which were popular vampire hotspots.

Her quarters was a small studio at best; however, it was homey – and aside from the fact that it came equipped with motion sensors (courtesy of Urahara, that idiot with a fascination for human mechanics), the room also contained a grand four-canopy bed, a computer, a TV, and several comfy couches and sofas. No one from the outside would know how the wooden floor shone with polish, how the white walls, once dirty, had been painstakingly cleaned so she could hang beautiful paintings. And like her own hidden identity, that was the way she wanted it.

Thoughts of that boy had left her in the few moments with Hitsugaya, but as Rukia fluttered down to her balcony, her mind couldn't help but return to him.

He was young – so young to be a vampire hunter – but obviously, if he was one at all, then he had to be good. Rukia hadn't let on to Hitsugaya, but she'd very nearly been killed earlier that night, when she had let her guard down momentarily when finding someone to feed upon.

Yes…that had been one of her few mistakes.

Rukia never liked to kill her victims. It had been a side effect of one of the events of her turning, abhorred by other vampires who lusted for blood and lived only for the terror of their victims, or the _snap_ of their neck, or the pounding pulse of their life as it drained from them in a soft red river. It was unusual for someone of her standing to be so thoroughly against those practices, but no one ever dared question her.

Therefore, the lone girl walking down a street lacking lamplight, late at night, had seemed like perfect prey.

A little _too_ perfect.

One does not stop to think of caution should they be the predator; it is never until the predator tastes fear that it learns to be wary.

And that was why Rukia never gave a second thought to check her surroundings, simply soaring down and stepping out from the corner after she'd retracted her wings. The girl had been so nice – a little guarded, but polite – and getting close to her had been child's play.

She set the girl's mind at ease, lulling her into contentment with just the will of her eyes, before gently biting down at her wrist. The blood flowed and she sucked at it. This girl was young and healthy and that meant her blood was in pristine condition.

And yet, if it hadn't been for the slight _click_ of metal on metal – in this case, a gun barrel sliding into place – Rukia would have been killed in that very next instant.

Apprehension had immediately dawned. Trusting her instincts, Rukia whirled away from the girl without even bothering to slow the bleeding from her wrist, taking flight – before a shot rang out and the concrete of the building next to her exploded in boulder-sized chunks.

She'd soared up, determined to get away from the gun, before she saw another hunter taking careful aim at her from the rooftop. And so, she had to make a swift midair turn along the side of the building so that the shot would go shallow. And it did, but it was so close that it actually whizzed through a few of her hairs.

Her first would-be shooter had jumped out of a deserted car and was now running after her, along with three others in his wake. His hunter's hood had slipped in the rush, and, with all the chaos on the scene, he probably hadn't even realize it was down.

And that was when she saw his face.

It had shocked her; her wings had spread to slow down before she even realized it, and then had to hurridly gain some speed back by diving. Whatever he'd shot seemed to take some time to load, for he was busy trying to run and load at the same time. But at least she could fly away when he was trying to gather his weapons.

No such luck. He'd given up with the big gun and gone for smaller ones at his side, strapped to his belt, as he let off a few rounds at her that she somehow miraculously ducked.

The other hunters had disappeared. It didn't bode well.

Rukia had been beating her wings desperately, gaining more and more speed as she tried to avoid barriers – like protruding signs – while also trying to run away from the hunters. The one hunter still after her, though, was _persistent_. And even after so many blocks, she could tell by the force of his breath that he still wasn't winded.

Ducking around buildings would probably bring her a couple seconds of lost visibility to the trailing hunter. She counted on those, and made a sharp turn around an eight-story business office before dropping into a stairway. She hardly made notice that it led down to a nightclub. Actually, it was a good thing that the stairs extended far down; the shadows were deep and she melted easily into them, watching as her hunter ran past. His eyes were on the sky.

Because he was looking up, he couldn't tell that there was someone who was observing his every move. But Rukia did. She watched him move, the lope of his run, noticed his guns and a small, rectangular white walkie-talkie with a blinking light that went off in the most bizarre shades of red to blue to green to orange. Rukia knew that it was their communication devices, and that the signals went straight back to hunters' main base – the whereabouts of which were unknown.

And after he had disappeared, it was a full five minutes before more hunters ran by, and another full twenty minutes before Rukia dared move from her spot. In escaping, she didn't see her hunter again.

_It couldn't really be him, though, could it?_ Rukia asked herself as she slid open the balcony door to her apartment. _He died. There's no way. No _fucking _way._

Her eyes turned dark.

_There's no way that orange-haired hunter could be that bastard...Kaien._

* * *

**tsuzuku**


	2. Night's Prelude

"-jiji" is a suffix usually used to denote an old man.

This fic is rated R because of language, violence, and sensuality. If any of the aforementioned offends you, please do not read.

Review if you like. No flames, please.

* * *

**kaerichi  
Chapter 2**

* * *

While the only source of light in her apartment came from candles situated about the room, Rukia never minded the poor lighting – and indeed, she never paid for electricity. Her eyes could see well enough in complete darkness.

She went around with a lighter, as she always did, lighting them one by one, drawing the curtains closed. It was time for her to sleep. The candles flickered in the darkness, creating the illusion of shadow and its movement, as she watched the flames from her large bed.

Her phone was lit up.

Cursing, Rukia got to her feet again to go and retrieve her mobile phone, resting prettily on the top of her TV. It never lit up – or stayed lit – unless she had a voice message.

She flopped back on her bed and put the phone to her ear. "_Hey, Rukia-chan!_" came Hitsugaya's cheerful and amused drawl, "_you left in such a hurry I forgot to tell you something else – we've got a national meeting the night after next, at the usual place and time, usual garb. _Don't_ forget this time or it's _my_ ass we're talking about. And while you might not give a fuck, I do, and therefore if you aren't there twenty minutes prior count yourself late. Got it? Good. See ya._"

As she clicked off her phone, Rukia was tempted to just heave it and let it land in whatever godforsaken part of the room it wanted. It was just too much damn trouble, those elders were…if this turned out to be another pointless meeting about vampire etiquette, then she was definitely going to kill Hitsugaya later.

Rukia sighed, and let her body relax into the sheets. So soft, so inviting…

With the many candles flickering about in the darkness, without bothering to change her clothes, Rukia slowly fell off to sleep.

* * *

Kurosaki Ichigo was cursing his bad luck.

First of all, he'd ripped his hood open after tumbling out of the hood of a car, meaning he had to go and fix it. Second of all, he'd managed to place his little sister in danger, and, to top it all off, he hadn't even caught the fucking bloodsucker who took two pints of her blood!

"Ichi-nii," the small form whined, as she sat on the edge of the bed, "don't be like that. I was fine. There'll be others."

"I _know_, Karin, but I shouldn't have let the vamp take so much blood. I should have shot sooner, or maybe tried shooting with another gun first. Maybe-"

"Maybe you know that none of this could be helped, and the way everything turned out is just fine," Karin interrupted her big brother, sounding quite annoyed. "Ichi-nii, just be thankful no one was killed. You hunt vamps all the time. You can't expect that you'll get every single one of them."

"But it…_you_ were the victim, Karin!"

"Only because I volunteered. I know what to do in the face of a vamp's will," she said. She cast a look at her surroundings. Currently in the medical ward of the hunter's underground base, she had just been given a glass of juice to offset the effects of blood loss, from what the vamp had drawn. And really, she was fine, though she just felt a little light-headed. She didn't know if that was from the blood loss or the aftereffects of her mind spell.

"Stupid vamp…I don't know how it got away from my gun…"

"Look, there's no use brooding about it. I'm fine."

"But it could've killed you! I saw it, you fell under its spell!"

"Well…" Karin frowned, "I have to admit, that vamp's control was something else. With all the others I was able to still keep a small part of my rational mind, to watch for your signals and everything, but this time…it was like I was totally asleep. Like I just couldn't do anything because the best thing would be to just stand there…" she trailed off. "The vamp didn't say anything, but if the spell had words, that would've been it."

Ichigo frowned. "But I've never seen that vamp before."

"Me neither. I didn't even know she was one until she was almost next to me; that's how much she was able to restrain her aura."

Ichigo shot his little sister a careful look. "You think she was a leader?"

"Who knows, Ichi-nii? Maybe."

And so, later that night, after his sister had been dismissed from the ward and caught a ride home with a friend, Ichigo sat in the den of the hunters' base, stewing over his thoughts. A possible high-ranking vampire right in front of him, and he'd missed his shot! It was infuriating! He'd trained for _years_ just to be able to do this kind of stuff – he hadn't trained himself to miss.

"Hey baby…" a voice abruptly crooned in his ear, while a slim hand draped over his shoulder. "Why the long face? Didn't lose anybody tonight, did you?"

"Matsumoto, stop."

"Gee, you're never any fun," the woman pouted, plopping herself into a chair and folding her arms over her rather large bosom. "I just try to get your mind off things and I can see you're already setting up your defenses."

"Aren't you living with Ichimaru?"

"So?"

"So? He's your fucking boyfriend!"

She shrugged. "That's never any reason to stop having fun." Matsumoto smiled slyly at him, but when not even a caustic reply was thrown back, her face suddenly turned serious. "Hey. Really, Ichigo, what's the matter? I haven't heard about any casualties yet."

"No, no…nobody died."

She just raised an eyebrow inquiringly at him.

"It's just that…damn!" Ichigo stood up and mussed his hair. "Karin was victim tonight, and I didn't even kill the stupid bloodsucker that fed off her!"

"And that's all?" Matsumoto looked surprised.

"What do you mean, "and that's all?" Yes that's all! I'm supposed to protect my sisters; how the hell can I do that if I can't even catch a single fucking bloodsucker?"

Matsumoto sighed. "You see, that's what everyone loves about you, Ichigo," she said, a smile curling her lip, "you're just so protective over your property."

"My sisters are not my property!"

"Everyone just thinks that your devotion to them is cute," she shrugged, that smile still on her face. She got up and went to the fridge, pulling out a canister of water and taking a cup from the sink. "I don't think there's ever been a hunter who hunts with family on his mind, nevermind a hunter who's actually had family to protect. Most of us" – her eyes darkened momentarily – "have had their lives screwed by vamps, with no family to even consider…and so join the hunters as means for revenge."

She paused.

Ichigo just stared. What could he say?

Matsumoto drank her water in silence before replacing the canister and walking past him, towards the door. "Well, Ichigo," she turned to him with a smile, "whatever's bugging you tonight, just know that at least Karin is safe, Yuzu never ventures out, and your father is busy in the lab. All your family is still alive. If their safety worries you so much, what more could you ask for?"

And with those parting words, she swept out the door.

The scent of her shampoo had already faded before Ichigo got to his feet with a heartfelt sigh. The vamp was still on his mind. A few hours in Training wouldn't hurt; maybe it would even take his mind off his problems.

* * *

Rukia slept for eight hours straight, restless, waking around two o' clock in the afternoon when the sun was still bright in the sky. Many of her candles had long died out. There was really no valid reason for her to feel so agitated, but she was itchy to get out, to walk off some of the excess energy that was burning at her patience.

Her thoughts wandered as she rummaged around her closet for acceptable clothes to wear out during the day; however, that boy hunter was never far from them. She had found herself dreaming of Kaien last night, drowning in the horror of her past, back when she was weaker than the average human and could do no more about her fate than anyone else. It was the major reason why she hadn't slept well. Just _thinking_ about him was enough to ruin her mood any time.

Finally she slipped out the door, dressed in jeans, a cotton shirt, and a wide-brimmed hat, wishing she could just fly as she usually did. Acting so totally human – and especially using the elevator to get down to the bottom floor – wasn't something she did often.

Her skin tingled as it met with the sunlight, but she continued on, undisturbed. It no longer bothered her. She had just walked several blocks to the subway station when someone called her name.

"Rukia?"

She turned. "Aa, Renji, is that you?"

The tall, relatively youthful-looking man sauntered up to her, hands stuffed in the pockets of his white hoodie. "What are you doing out? It's rare to see you during the day."

"I have every right to be out, but I was just going to ask you the same question," she replied, smirking. "But, you know, if we have a national meeting tonight, I'm surprised Hitsugaya isn't working you like a dog right now. He's just got put in charge of formal affairs, you know, so if something gets screwed it's now his fault."

"Yeah, the meeting...right...well, Hitsugaya-jiji knows that he can't boss me around," Renji boasted, as he fell in step beside Rukia, grinning. "So I took the day off. Big fucking _deal_. If he can't handle the trouble himself..." he chuckled, "well, it's _his_ ass that's gonna be barbecued, not mine."

"Funny, Hitsugaya said almost the exact same thing."

"Where you going now?"

She shrugged and pulled her handbag up to her shoulder. "I don't know. I didn't really set out from my house with a destination in mind."

"Yeah, me neither. Wanna make a day of it together? I don't have anything to do til eight."

"Eight?" she asked, surprised. "Why eight? The meeting starts at the usual time."

"I know, but by then Hitsugaya-jiji should be freaking out and tripping all over himself like an idiot, 'cause of course there's always gonna be last-minute details that pop up that he's gonna have to fix." Renji grinned. "And it's showing up at eight that'll keep him from killing me on the spot, anyway."

"Hitsugaya? Kill you?" she laughed, "Renji, you aren't that expendable."

"You wouldn't know it from the last time Hitsugaya-jiji cursed me."

"Or actually, he really _might_ kill you, if you ever call him 'Hitsugaya-jiji' again."

"Fucking Hitsugaya's been alive from before Jesus even had a name!"

"I know. But it's a sad shame," Rukia sighed in mock-pity, "you have one of the most prestigious elders, forever doomed to an eternal eleven years old." She caught Renji's eye and he burst out in sharp laughter, whereas she just smiled at her own wit as they continued along.

They boarded a subway headed to Shibuya after deciding to see a movie together, and perhaps do some window-shopping. It wasn't often each played human, so the experience of seeing things in normal human perspective, from the ground – and especially in daylight – was interesting, to say the least.

The only thing Rukia really hated about Shibuya was the crowds of teenagers that would gather and gawk at her, the more adventurous boys actually having the gall to approach her with cheesy pickup lines that she would have loved to kill them for.

But today was okay. Renji, tall, imposing, with his headband tied around ceremonial tattooes of a goth lover's dream, easily scared the skittish away from them. Boys who eyed Rukia didn't dare approach in fear of Renji.

Renji had been her friend for almost as long as she could remember, and (while his thick skull sometimes made him as impossible to talk to as a monkey) he stood up for her when she needed backup, he believed in what she thought, and they could argue and bicker like any true friends without repercussion.

There was a downside to that too – others, viewing the couple from a distance, had seen potential romance.

Rukia scoffed. Romance? With Renji? The thought was laughable.

They ended up seeing an American horror film, about a ghost and a ship, both laughing where everyone else screamed and making riotous comments to each other about the corniness of the "monster."

However, as it always does in fun, time passed them by very quickly. Soon it was eight, and Renji had to leave; and then it was ten, and time for her to get home; and then it was eleven-thirty, and it was time to her to get ready.

Looking around in her closet for a minute, she finally found what she was looking for - she hadn't brought it out in over two years – and laid it carefully on the bed.

She stood in front of her mirror to look at her reflection after donning the garb. In the traditional deep red of Japan's highest-ranked vampires, the robe was long, made of three separate panels and joined at the shoulders. There was no back to the robe; it had a cape hanging, to allow for the summoning and usage of wings. Twined golden rope around the waist secured in front, the gold crescent moon pin of vampire elite glimmering, and Rukia added her golden silk scarf as the final touch to her uniform.

After checking to make sure everything was in place, she jumped off her balcony and into the night. She flew high; it was still early, and people were still out and socializing. The meeting place was always scheduled in a ballroom in one of Ginza's extravagant hotels. If the meeting began at twelve, she had ten minutes.

The balcony door was open when she arrived, and some other vampires were mingling outside with cocktails in hand. All were dressed in a robe representing their country. As Rukia landed on the impressively grand balcony, a flurry of languages reached her ears - she could only discern English, Chinese, and something that sounded like Arabic before she was dragged inside.

"Rukia! I thought I told you to be here twenty minutes prior!" Hitsugaya hissed lowly to her as they approached the cocktail table. "I've got dignitaries from all over the fuckin' _world_ and you show up just on time?"

"Well, _do_ excuse me for being so punctual. I'll remember to be late next time," she replied, amused by his choice of words. "And, oh honored elder, what exactly is the point of this meeting tonight?"

"I can answer that one," a voice cut in, and both turned to the tall figure that approached the table. His striped wide-brimmed hat clashed horribly with the severe formality of his robes, looking woefully out of place. Urahara, however, seemed not to notice.

"If you don't mind, Hitsugaya-kun, could you do me a _big_ favor and see to the Romanian representative? He does fear he's lost his coffin," Urahara sighed tragically, "and I'm certain that if someone doesn't see to poor Flavius Berdnikov-san's situation soon, he's in half a mind to stir up a bloodbath." He grinned. "Go on, shoo."

Hitsugaya didn't have a happy expression on his face, but he couldn't ignore the request. They watched his white head disappear into the crowd.

"Ah, Romanians," Urahara grinned, "they do rather adore the classics. Can't be helped, I suppose, with Transylvania being right there and all."

"All right, Urahara, you can say whatever you want, but just what is the point of this meeting tonight? There's so many more people here than usual."

"You just have to listen, watch, and wait, Rukia-san," Urahara replied, as he grabbed her a vodka martini and steered her into the crowd. "The meeting will begin in another minute to the hour, and it shan't be good to just dally around. Take a seat next to me?"

Rukia shrugged. "I suppose."

"Good, good. This way."

Rukia followed him without further question, even as the lights started to dim just slightly, and the rest of the vampires filed in from the balcony.

* * *

**tsuzuku**


	3. Mexico's Help

This fic is rated R because of language, violence, and sensuality. If any of the aforementioned offends you, please do not read.

Review if you like. No flames, please.

* * *

**kaerichi  
**Chapter 3

* * *

"It is impossible to guess," the Canadian representative was saying in English, "We do not know why the hunters are suddenly more aware of us than ever before. Without infiltration, we can hardly – if you will excuse the human expression – make stabs in the dark as to their means."

"But something has to be done! We can't just sit around and twiddle our thumbs, waiting for the strike! How are we to know that they don't know everything about our society yet?" the American representative was saying, gesturing with his hands, dressed in robes of deep blue and red.

"We know they do not because if they did, none of us would be present today," the British rep said in a coolly dismissing tone. "You ought to remember that the hunters strike by what limited knowledge they have, and even if the last few attacks were numerous, the lot of those who died could have survived with a proper escape route."

"The burnings in Singapore were nothing new," another said, waving a hand. "The hunters do not know any more about killing us than the fact that we are not resistant to fire. All they know is our locations. Their luck on that part has been suspiciously positive."

Rukia took another sip of her martini as her gaze shifted outside. She had never been to a meeting quite like this one before. There were representatives from all over the world, the most powerful vampires from their country. Most of the other national meetings had been about trivial things in her eyes, but this one, about the hunters and more numerous attacks, had been interesting enough to hold her attention.

It would've held her full attention had she been able to shake a slightly edgy feeling, like how she felt sometimes when the blood she drank was too contaminated. However, she dismissed it on the grounds of all the auras circulating in the room.

Like the rest of the vampires present, the attacks bothered her. It wasn't like vampires to be so careless as to be found by hunters. But the hunters had been on the attack recently, and so many had already died…apparently, it was rising to such a level that collective opinions had to be discussed on this pressing situation.

Hence, the meeting.

Urahara lifted a hand to say something. "But we do not know anything about them yet," he said in English. "They are attacking us, but we know very little about another's situation. I do not know of the hunters in France. The Koreans know nothing of our hunters. And the list is endless. What I mean to say is that this is not so much a matter of national concern, unless the hunters are working together. Since we know that the hunters are still working on just the country level, each nation should focus on trying to stop their own problems, instead of having others come to their aid."

People were nodding; Rukia had the fleeting impression of a sea of faces, bobbing up and down, before she found herself nodding along with his statement. Her English was pretty much perfect, so she did not have to distinctly listen in order to understand the traded dialogue.

The meeting broke up soon after that. Other vampires, having been handed the answer to their troubles – at least on the international level – started to mingle with each other again.

Rukia turned to Urahara. "I didn't realize your English was so good, Urahara," she said. "It's better than what you said seven years ago."

"I practice," he grinned at her. "Anyway, Rukia-san, before anyone sets off, I think it's a good time for you to meet some of the other dignitaries. It's one of the few times you'll ever see all of us in one room together, and who knows? You could be in my position one day, so you'll have to be sure to know these vampires well."

She nodded. She doubted the part about the ascension of his position, though.

So Urahara went around, introducing her to the others, which took a while because of the sheer number of them. As far as first impressions went, Rukia had never felt more out of place in her life. From more thanfour hundred vampires, she was only one out of two women. And also, she was definitely ranked among the youngest turned; only Hitsugaya and another Chinese kid had a more youthful appearance. There were so many that she didn't even have a chance to look for Renji in the crowd.

Rukia pretended not to notice the eyebrows that people raised when her back was to them, they all wondering how she deserved to wear the crescent pin that signified only the highest of vampire elite. And she pretended not to notice the lustful glances, too. Humans made her deal with enough of that shit.

She was just about to meet Soi Fong (the Chinese vampire and only other woman in the room) when she noticed a tall vampire at the window, turning his head back and forth as if scanning the skyline. His robe was a shade of dark blue that was almost black – a lot of vampires wore robes of this color – but she could see enough of his profile to realize that he was probably Hispanic.

The man's head turned and he realized she was watching. His hands were at his side, and, as Rukia watched, his fingers curled slightly in quick succession. It was a second before she realized that he was motioning for her to come over, without actually asking or making a visible gesture. Why?

Rukia turned to excuse herself from Urahara before approaching. Urahara, busy conversing in German, hardly noticed her departure.

Whoever the guy at the window was, he was _tall_ – and Rukia guessed that he was probably Mexico's rep, if not Portugal or Brazil. Definitely 190 cm at least (6' 3").

"Did you want to say something to me?" she asked him, looking out the window curiously, as his form towered over her moderate 167 cm (5' 6").

"No! Don't look out," he said quickly. His face hardly moved. He didn't turn to face her, either. And to top it all off, he surprised her by speaking in perfect Japanese.

"What? Why?"

Finally he turned to her, and under the mop of hair, she could see just one of his large brown eyes. "Don't you get the feeling we're being watched?"

That slightly edgy feeling still persisted…

"…yes."

"I think we probably are. Ever since the start of the meeting I've noticed miniscule red lights that dart around the neighboring building's roofs. They remind me of the communication devices used by the hunters in my country, Mexico."

Just the other night she had seen her orange-haired hunter with a blinking walkie-talkie with all those strange colors…

"You mean the hunters are here?"

"Make your face less serious. As if you're talking to me about…something happy."

"So you mean the hunters are here?" she asked him, plastering a wide smile on her face, though inside her blood had frozen to ice. Rukia understood. If the hunters really were watching, acting as if they knew about their presence was suicide. For now, she had to pretend.

The man smiled back. "Yes, I think so."

This was just so bizarre.

"Have you actually seen one?"

"No, but I can see the moving shadows, like how the hunters train themselves to move in the night. And if they know we have so many high-ranking vampires from around the country, what's to stop them from bombing this whole floor?"

"What should I do?" Rukia asked. She turned her back to the window. The panic was making it impossible for her to put on a happy façade in the midst of the danger she knew they were suddenly in. "We have to let all the dignitaries here all escape…!"

"Not all at once," he was still smiling at her. "If they have traps, they'd just hem and kill them easily. Just be quiet, pretend nothing's wrong, and then maybe everyone can leave inconspicuously by a back door. I'm sure there's an exit for humans."

"Maybe. I…I should tell my leader."

"You do that."

Rukia turned back to him with her smile. "Thank you. I…you…you may have just saved us all."

He nodded. "By the way, I'm Chad Yastora, leader division second-seat representative of Mexico." He extended his hand in a handshake.

Gripping it firmly, some of her strength coming from anxiety, she replied, "Nice to meet you. My name is Kuchiki Rukia, leader division first-seat representative of Japan."

She could see his one visible eye widen. "You're of the leader division?"

"You aren't the first to be surprised." She smiled at him for a while, even after dropping his hand. "Well, it was nice meeting you. I should…be…going."

He nodded. "Be careful."

"You too."

Rukia moved over to Urahara's side, nearly dragging him away from his conversation with the Spanish rep. She explained the situation in low tones. Urahara, though surprised, was quick to point out the human exit, and discreetly began herding vampires into the elevators.

Most figured out what was going on without even being told. Just like that, in what seemed like the passing of a second, the atmosphere in the room suddenly went from relaxed to the extreme opposite. Wine glasses along the bar – and even the bar itself – cracked from the restrained force of vampiric auras, now tingling with slight panic. Rukia and the Mexico rep were doing their best to keep everyone talking, to keep everyone up with the façade. It didn't seem to be working.

What happened in the next few minutes passed like a dream.

One vampire, an Algerian elder, broke away from the crowd and ran to the balcony, wings shooting out from under his black robe. Someone in the crowd screamed "COWARD!" to him in English, but no one was really sure who; and in that next instant, before the elder had even passed the glass windows leading outside, he fell back, a foot-long spear protruding through his heart.

Chaos reigned after that. Most vampires, so unused to using human technology, had not considered the fact that they'd probably have been safer taking the elevator (hunters couldn't shoot in front of humans) and simply thought to fly to escape. There was a crazed dash to the windows, but as they shoved through and managed to fly off in all directions, more and more spears came flying at the first few. The projection was so hard that it speared them through the heart and nailed them onto the glass, like darts on a glass target, while blood oozed down the windows like cherry rain.

Rukia didn't know what to do or where to run. This was the first time in her long, long life that she'd ever been faced with a situation like this. Some vampires had ceased to run through the open door, but now shots pierced through the glass and found their mark anyway. There was confusion, and there was screaming, and there was panic, and there was fear, and there were so many bodies falling and running and dying that she didn't know who to help first…!

Urahara, like a comforting presence, swooped her aside. His massive wings shielded her from the two projectiles that came their way; they pierced through his leathery wing, but Urahara pulled them out and turned to her as they already began healing.

"Rukia."

"What? What do I do?" she asked him breathlessly.

She trusted him. Urahara would know what to do. He always knew what to do.

"Listen to me, Rukia. There is very little time, and unless we do something, we're going to have a massacre on our hands. I need to ask you to do something."

"What is it?" she asked, though she thought she already knew the answer.

"Rukia, your wings. You've always been different, but it's your wings that could save us now. Only you're capable of swift movement. The rest of us would be like dead targets if we tried to take to the air now. Fly. Confuse. Do anything you can to the hunters! I must see these vampires escape!"

Rukia nodded in assent. Her feet had already started moving before she even thought of the suicide mission she was being sent to.

From the very first day of her turning, even as a pathetic, helpless newborn, Rukia had always been different in _so many_ ways. For one, the sheer power of her vampiric aura was incredible, and, unlike many other vampires, she could tap in and control it to her will. Female vampires never had so much power.

And second of all…her wings.

Her wings had always been those of an angel's, as described in those stories that humans told. Perfect black feathers, not a single out of place, so lusciously smooth that they shone with violet-blue fire when the light hit it the right way. That was _not_ normal. All vampires had – as humans would describe – demon's wings: large, leathery, with a spiked claw and several ribs connecting the tissue.

But she was different. She was most definitely a vampire, just…different.

Her wings were much smaller, true, but she could maneuver better than any other vampire alive and her speed was unmatched. All because of her wings.

And Urahara was counting on that right now to save them all.

Stepping around countless bodies nailed to the glass windows, reminiscent of the Christian Jesus and his place on the cross, Rukia dodged three spears and took to the air. More were shot. She dodged. One cut a shallow wound on her thigh, but she couldn't worry about that now.

Diving back and forth, she scattered the ranks of hunters outside as she used a mix of her flight skills and some of her barrier-creating aura to fight for valuable time. She flew between the ballroom complex and the adjacent buildings, grabbing spears out of midair and dodging all the rest. Of course, she was not perfect; the most serious wound came from when a spear lodged itself in her left shoulder, making it difficult for her to fly.

But still she continued on for a good twenty minutes, feeling her movements grow slow from fatigue and noticing the more coordinated attacks of the hunters. Not good.

Not good.

And now, instead of spears, they were shooting small black balls that looked like cannons. She dodged. They could have been simply cannons or they could have been bombs…she wasn't keen on finding out.

She flipped and whirled and twisted and dived for all she was worth, doing her best to distract the hunters, calling upon her years of flight practice to this one night. And it seemed to be working. All the hunters she could see where aiming at her, and her alone.

Gee, she felt almost honored.

"Rukia!" she heard her name. "It's all right! Come!"

She knew it was Urahara, and that must have meant that all the rest of the vampires had managed to leave…she started to fly backwards, her guard still up, though she felt her internal sigh of relief.

Too quick. She felt an aura brush hers as it whipped past. Suspended in the air almost halfway between the buildings, she saw that Mexican rep Chad Yastora cradling Hitsugaya in his arms. Hitsugaya! Hitsugaya had been speared, but it was through the center of his chest, not his heart…and though there was so much blood, if it could be removed…! Hitsugaya…!

And that was when she saw the five or so spears hurtling towards them.

Her wings seemed to beat in slow motion, sound muting itself, as she sped towards them, knocking them off course so that Chad would be spared and could escape with his wounded charge. Rukia barely made it. She was just about to fly back.

Then, something hit her.

Something _hit_ her.

The impact was so jarring it was a while before she realized that something had hit her on the back of the head, so hard that she heard her skull fracture. And again, it was slow motion; she was falling, her vision was going blank, and she couldn't reach her wings…

For a fleeting moment, she had the impression that something cloth-like had been cast over her, in the air, and she was being pulled somewhere…and was that Urahara yelling in the background? Why? She couldn't hear the voice…it was so far away…

Her vision ran together. When it cleared for a second, Rukia was face-to-face with her orange-haired hunter.

"You…" she whispered.

He was smirking. What was going on? Why was this hunter…?

Then her vision meshed, slamming darkness on her conscious, as she gave in to oblivion as black as the surrounding sky.

* * *

**tsuzuku**


	4. Captured and Capturer

"-taichou" is the suffix for "Captain "

This fic is rated R because of language, violence, and sensuality. If any of the aforementioned offends you, please do not read.

Review if you like. No flames, please.

* * *

**kaerichi  
**Chapter 4

* * *

As soon as Ichigo walked into the conference room, there was such a sudden burst of applause and cheering so loud that it nearly knocked him off his feet. But he welcomed it. He, too, had an abnormally large smirk on his face.

"Great job, onii-chan!" Yuzu was saying as she jumped off her chair. She was still so short, she only came up to his stomach. "You caught that vamp that got away the other night! I knew you could do it! I'm so happy for you, onii-chan!"

Ichigo grinned at her as she sat back down, shaking hands, accepting praise and pats on the back. He was still smirking when Yoruichi walked in to commence the short meeting.

"All right, I'm sure all you here present know what this is about, but let me state this just one more time: Kurosaki-taichou, congratulations on capturing a live vampire, especially such an unusual one." She nodded in his direction, and he nearly swelled. "The vampire is currently being held in detainment sector 13-1. All those not of level five or higher who wish to see the vampire will have to obtain passes from either me or another commanding officer. However, I suggest you have good reasons for doing so. This is not just some creature to poke fingers at or make googly eyes like you would at something in a zoo. This is a creature of scientific study. Anything to jeopardize our plan will be dealt the harshest penalty possible. Is this _very_ clear?"

There was murmured assent, but already Ichigo could hear some grumbling about the level five and over rule.

And sector 13-1? Wow, that vamp must be something, to warrant such security.

"Anything we learn from this vampire, inclusive of attacks, origin, or vampire society, shall be informed at the next meeting. I do not know how long this will take, so, until then, keep an eye on the post board. Just because we have managed to make a big bust does not mean we can be slacking off. This is most likely the best time to attack. I expect to see all your faces here for our next meeting, alive, and perhaps a little more experienced. Dismissed."

With almost half his unit gone from last night's events (9 percent deceased, 38 percent injured), there was little for Ichigo to do, duty-wise. He spent an hour alone in the hunter's den, flipping channels and trying to get comfortable with a cup of coffee. But something continued to bug him, and finally he gave up trying to squash his urge to see the vampire.

He'd been the one to catch her, after all. _And_ as captain of the second unit division, he was of level six. There was nothing holding him back but himself.

* * *

When Rukia had opened her eyes, the light that had met it had been so blinding, she thought that her irises would never be the same. Her wings had instinctively flared out.

That was when she realized she couldn't move them.

Slowly coming to a sitting position, she looked over her shoulder to see that the arch of her wings had been clamped together, making it impossible to fly. Also, there were strange blue bands on her wrists that wouldn't come off, no matter what she did. And to top it all off, she felt so _lightheaded_, as if she could just barely feel the fringes of her inner conscious.

_My…aura…_ she realized. _It must be these blue bands…they've restrained my aura somehow…Hitsugaya was right; they _are_ learning how to detect auras!_

After she could see without squinting, Rukia realized she was in a small circular cell, surrounded by glass…kind of like a capsule. There was cool metal under her feet, a bright fluorescent light over her head, and just the glass surrounding her. The cell had to have been only four meters in diameter, raised about a meter above the ground.

But what bothered her the most was that the cell seemed to be in another large room of sorts, like a scientist's room with all sorts of computers and large machinery.

And, beyond the glass, there were _humans_. Hunters. Looking at her, whispering, and so thoroughly invading her privacy that she felt like she was being molested by their eyes.

Not wanting them to see her wings, she retracted them until they disappeared; the metal band fell with a harmless clatter to the floor.

Rukia saw a young man and woman, the woman tugging on his arm before the man pulled away. He walked right up and rapped on the glass to get her attention.

"Hey, bloodsucker! Comfortable in there?" he asked, rising a laugh from those watching. Rukia could hear him quite well – she supposed there was a sound transmitting system somewhere in the cell – but she remained silent and shot him a glare that could have, quite literally, killed. If only she had her aura…

"I sure hope you don't _die_ in there, because that would be a shame," the man continued on, causing more laughs from the crowd, "After all, you are a "creature of scientific study" and I _sure_ wouldn't like to be a recipient of "the harshest penalty possible." Right, Chizuru?"

Rukia had absolutely no idea what he was talking about.

"Right, right…okay, Keigo, you've had your fun, so we can go now," the red-haired woman was saying as she continued tugging on his arm. "Come on, we aren't–"

"…supposed to be here? Was that the end of your sentence?"

The woman looked suddenly horrified as she turned towards the voice, which had come from the doorway. Rukia's undead heart leapt to her throat as she saw some _very_ familiar hair.

Ichigo, casual in jeans and a sweater, sauntered inside, ignoring some people's looks of horror and directing his gaze to Keigo. "Might I ask how you, a level two trainee, managed to get inside sector 13-1 to see my vampire? I highly doubt Shihouin-san would have signed you a pass to simply come here to make fun."

"Uh, well, Kurosaki-taichou, you see…uh…"

Ichigo sighed. "Look, Asano, I know Mizuiro's your buddy, but for God's sakes if he keeps letting you pass, I'm going to have to bring this up."

"I'm very sorry, Kurosaki-taichou."

"Yeah, yeah. Now get your ass out of here, and all you level threes."

My god, Rukia thought, he looked so much like _him_. Their voices were nothing alike, but she could still see the traces of his movement, the same curve of his face, the square of his chin…how could this one bastard hunter be like the only vampire she'd ever truly hated?

He'd turned to her. "Hey. Bloodsucker."

She nearly growled from the term.

"How're you feeling? Good? I hope so. Because when they're finished cutting you open, there won't even be a shred of yourself left to recognize." He laughed. "I guess this is what they call karma! You hurt my sister, I get to kill you. Funny how the world works, isn't it?"

He was _so much_ like him. Even in his arrogance, it was written all over him.

Like a whisper, her lips parted.

"…sh – shut up."

That stopped him. He'd been so sure she wouldn't respond. "What?"

"I said _shut up_." Rukia drew herself to her knees, then stood slowly, hands on the glass for support. "You think you know me? You don't know shit about me."

"I know that you hurt my sister the other night. And I let you get away." The rest of the people in the room, high-level unit members, were watching in silence.

"I hurt your sister? I _hurt_ your sister?" she practically shouted. "I don't even know who the hell your sister is, but if I did take blood from her, all I was doing was being who I am! And what about you? What do you consider that massacre of my kind, a favor?" She was almost trembling; the pain on Hitsugaya's face, all the dead…it was overwhelming.

"It's a favor to humankind; who knows what you bloodsuckers would have done if given the chance to be let loose without hunters in the world!"

"Don't call me a bloodsucker."

"Why? It's what you are! Isn't that what you said, bloodsucker?"

"I said don't call me that."

"Why not? It goes well with you–"

"I said DON'T FUCKING CALL ME THAT!" Rukia nearly screamed as the memories built up to an irrepressible level. The blue bands on her wrists were humming, vibrating against her skin, and it was glowing an even brighter blue than before. And the power was so close! The lightheadedness was vanishing…she could feel her power as clearly as it had ever been, and it was just one fingertip away!

Rukia realized that there was shouting outside the compartment; but before she could reach out to grab her aura, a thick fog suddenly spewed from the top of her capsule cell, thick and opaque. She choked for a bit before stopping breathing.

Breathing was something that most vampires did because it helped blood circulate, but it was by no means necessary, and they could survive without air. Rukia thought she would be safe. But then…why was she still falling to the ground? And she could feel her power receding again, like waves on the shore…

The sounds and pictures ran into one big blur, and she barely noticed that the capsule was opened somehow, and there were hands on her wrists, doing something…and then a cloth was over her mouth – she was breathing again, from force of habit – and then everything was black.

* * *

Rukia's eyes cracked open before she became fully aware of wanting to wake up; her mind was so unsettled that she had to think for a minute to figure out which was right-side up. It wasn't like her mind to be so…cloudy.

_I can't believe how advanced the hunters are now…_ she thought to herself, the anger at the orange-haired hunter having drained her emotions. _They knocked me out with something, I don't know what…my healing rate used to be fast enough so that I wasn't affected by any outside gases. I don't think I'm slowing down, so that must mean that the hunters are speeding up._

The light was intense, washing everything out into a pale white. She wasn't used to so much light. However, it wasn't UV; that much she knew.

She looked down at her arms. Now, instead of just one blue band, she had three up her arm, like a row of fences. In a way, they were – blocking off her only source of comfort, her aura. They must have slapped it on her after knocking her out with that strange gas.

Incredibly, with everything that the hunters had stripped from her – her pride, dignity, aura, you name it – she still had her original clothes and robe on. It could've passed for artfully ripped with all the holes in it. But there was no mistaking the blood. Her wounds had healed, but the clothes always remained the same.

And…

Fucking shit.

She was getting _cold_.

* * *

After the incident with the vampire in detaining sector 13-1, Ichigo had left to train the time away, wondering what the hell kind of power could nearly break one of their aura-restrictive power bands. It hadn't been a joke; just five seconds more, Yoruichi had said, just five seconds more and she would've broken through.

But he was fed up with training. So that was why, when the clock struck 12:00 a.m., he headed up to the security control booth. This was peak hour and the place was bustling with activity.

He noticed the familiar head of hair at the chair long before he approached. Approaching quietly, he suddenly leapt forward and spun the chair around once. "Hey, fearless security manager, how is my captured vampire doing?"

"_Kurosaki-kun_!" Orihime had gasped, hanging onto the sides for dear life as the chair finally stopped spinning and came to a halt. "You shouldn't do that to me! I nearly had a heart attack!"

"Yeah, and I bet Ishida wouldn't be too happy then with me, eh?"

She blushed a light pink. "W – well anyway, Kurosaki-kun, what are you doing here?"

"I asked: how's my bloodsucker doing?"

Orihime frowned and bit her lip. "It's funny you should ask, Kurosaki-kun, because I'm afraid to say not well."

"What? Why?"

"I don't know," she replied, as she typed in a series of commands to the computer, which brought up the several video surveillance cameras stationed around sector 13-1. Another set of commands, and the one with the best view enlarged on the screen.

It showed a slumped figure, huddled deep in her robes, very visibly shivering.

"She looks cold," Ichigo observed. "Shouldn't you turn up the heat in the cell?"

"But, Kurosaki-kun, that's the whole point. I already have it at 85 degrees. That the equivalent of a balmy day in Hawaii. I've used several thermometers to check the temperature, and they all read the same. It just doesn't seem to be affecting your vampire."

"I don't understand what's wrong," a voice cut into their conversation before Ichigo could reply. "This is the first live vampire we've had that we've kept alive, but it just seems to be dying from the cold. The _cold_! When, as Inoue-san already mentioned, the temperature is at 85 degrees." Yoruichi frowned. "Things just aren't adding up."

"Maybe she needs blood," Ichigo suggested. "Don't all vampires need blood to survive?"

"Of course, that was the first thing we thought of, but she has refused to drink from any of the blood we took from our blood bank. She refuses to talk to anyone. If this keeps up, we may have to resort to gassing her again and force-feeding her."

"Hah, what's up with them? She's not talking? The vamp was sure talkative with me."

Yoruichi turned to regard him with her fair amber eyes, standing out clearly from the dusky color of her skin. Every time she looked at him directly, Ichigo felt as if her eyes saw things deeper than what most people did, like she was prying. He wondered if he was the only one to feel this way.

"If that's the case, then, Kurosaki-san, you should try and talk to her. Who knows?" she shrugged lightly. "The vampire talked to you once; she might talk to you again."

"I don't think–"

"You are unwilling to try?"

She was still observing him with her eyes. More to get away from her persuasive stare than anything else, he sighed in resignation. "Fine. Fine, Shihouin-san, I'll try."

He headed off to the detainment sector after securing another bag of blood, heaving it over his shoulder like a piece of luggage. When he arrived, the scene was exactly like how he had seen it on camera. Nothing had changed. It was still pale, pale white, the vamp was in the same position, and she was still shivering.

* * *

Rukia was cold. She was so cold.

This cold was not like human cold, where it blew along and nipped at exposed skin, making the receiver hurriedly find some warm pocket or crook of body to warm the cold limb. No, this was cold from the inside out – a strange feeling, it was. Her hands were frozen numb and even when she rubbed them together, there was no warm, welcoming friction to add some heat. There was friction, but her hands remained as cold as dry ice.

Momentarily looking up, she saw _him_. What was he doing here? And a whole lot of other people, too, with a lot of weapons.

Oh. The hunter had a bag of blood over his shoulder. Not _again_.

"Hey, you." It was on the tip of his tongue to call her "bloodsucker," but since he wanted her cooperation, Ichigo didn't think that would go down too well. "Vampire. You're shivering 'cause you're hungry, right? Well, here. You can eat this blood."

He was so incredibly dense, just like the whole lot of them.

At her silent reaction, Ichigo's impatience fizzed up. "Hey! Why don't you eat? Aren't you hungry? If you don't eat, they're gonna gas you again and force you to eat it anyway! So instead of humiliating yourself even more, why don't you just eat what I give you now?"

This idiot actually thought that she was being _defiant_ by not eating? It wasn't the appropriate time for such a gesture, but Rukia couldn't help it: a small, sarcastic laugh bubbled up from within her frigid self. It was a dry and hollow sound, but still distinguishable nonetheless.

"I think I missed the joke," Ichigo said, eyes narrowing.

"You're idiots, the whole lot of you are," Rukia rasped, her throat painfully parched, and trying desperately to control her shivering. She was just so, so _cold_. "You actually…you actually think that dead blood is going to…going to…" she coughed, unable to complete the rest of her sentence.

"Excuse me? Dead blood? This came from a live person, thank you very much!" Ichigo snapped, as he lifted the bag to his shoulder again.

"That isn't…that's not…" Rukia shook her head and gave up. Her shivering had grown beyond her control.

Ichigo lowered the blood from his shoulders.

What was this in front of him? This shivering, helpless, fragile woman who didn't even have the strength to complete a single sentence? _This_ was one of the feared vampire leaders? This was the leader they had to kill? This was the leader who was probably responsible for countless deaths over decades? This was her?

All she reminded Ichigo of, at the moment, was a lost, shivering child.

He stood watching her for a few seconds before it clicked.

Setting the blood bag on the floor, he approached the cell until his face was just inches from it, the closest he had ever come to her when she wasn't unconscious. "Hey. When you say "dead blood," does that mean blood that's already been drawn from a person?"

"Yes," she whispered. That was all she could manage.

"But you do need blood, right? You need it from a live person?"

She didn't answer, but that was all the answer he needed.

"And you're cold because you haven't eaten anything? Is that normal?"

Again, Rukia said nothing, but Ichigo had already figured it out anyway.

Shocking everyone, Ichigo punched in the code to open the nearly invisible cell door, pulling it open and climbing inside. Blazes, it was warm in there.

"Kurosaki-taichou! What are you doing?" the others in the back asked, their grip on weapons tightening, though none made too much of a hurry to move forward. "Don't get too close to that bloodsucker! What if she bites you?"

"Oh, for the…" Ichigo cursed, "this vamp's got on three fuckin' power limiters, she's probably hours away from dying of starvation, and you've all got guns that could blow a fucking hole in her head before she could twitch a finger! What are you all worried about?"

They were silent.

"Exactly."

He crouched down right in front of Rukia, unbuttoning his shirt collar and pulling it away from his neck.

She just stared at him.

"What the hell you waiting for?"

"What?"

"Go on! Drink!"

"Kurosaki-taichou, this is unwise!" a guard shouted. "Were she to suddenly take advantage of our position, and use you as a hostage, or perhaps even take all your blood, we would not be able to do anything!"

"Just give her ideas, why don't you? But keep your pants on; I think I can handle it. Don't underestimate me," he said, voice a smooth, sarcastic drawl. "Besides, all of the best hunters have had blood taken by vampires before. I never have, so this'll be some experience for me." He turned his face back to her. "Go on."

Rukia wanted to refuse. She really did. But how could she, when, even with all her power restrained, she could still feel the force of his life so close to hers? So tantalizingly close…

She cursed softly to herself. She needed more time until she figured out a way to escape from here, so until then…she had no choice.

"Give me…your wrist."

"Why?" The question slipped out before Ichigo remembered that she had taken blood from his sister the exact same way, from the wrist instead of the neck. That was strange. Blood didn't flow as fast from the wrist.

She reached a hand out to his wrist, and Ichigo had to restrain himself from flinching. The touch of her skin on his was like dry ice.

Bringing the wrist up to her lips, she brushed her cold lips over the veins, eyes closed, before opening them to his. This boy, this _Kurosaki_…he was a jerk and a bastard and looked too much like Kaien, but still, she was going to owe him her life, and that was a pretty big debt.

She could at least do this much.

"Look…look into…my…eyes…" she managed to get out.

And Ichigo, not thinking, looked.

She may have had several power limiters on, but there was still that intensely miniscule sliver of her aura that she could tap into, to use to seduce her prey's mind like she always had…

Her eyes met his.

Something sparked.

If you took the feeling as if you'd just won the lottery, combined it with finding the love of your life, and rolled it with the atmosphere of a perfect sunny day, that was exactly how Ichigo felt as Rukia eased his mind with the power of her will. His gaze turned unfocused, dreamy…and his head tilted back even as Rukia took his wrist and gently broke the skin.

The blood was like hot chocolate on her tongue; it was so warm and thick that Rukia had a difficult time restraining herself from making the wound bigger. The first spill of it was enough to eke out the tiniest bit of strength back into her limbs.

She could hear some guards shouting in the background, but she had this hunter, and she had his blood…Rukia thought all this before realizing that the blood limit was close.

She didn't want to let him go.

But if she didn't…

With the last spill, she held her tongue against the wound, not knowing how much of her restricted vampiric aura would heal it. Normally she could heal bite wounds, but that was at full strength, and what remained was only a marginal amount of what it'd been before.

The wound didn't fully close. There was still that wonderful taste…but Rukia shoved him away from her, and he landed in an awkward position against the open door. With the jarring impact, her aura over him broke. Ichigo blinked before anger overtook his features.

"What the…what the _fuck_ just happened?"

* * *

**tsuzuku**


	5. Ichigo's Mission

This fic is rated R because of language, violence, and sensuality. If any of the aforementioned offends you, please do not read.

Review if you like. No flames, please.

* * *

**kaerichi  
**Chapter 5

* * *

Rukia had abruptly thrown him back against the door, afraid that were he to remain close for another minute, she'd take more blood than was safe to give. A life debt for a life debt. Even if other vampires had long ago forgotten this, she always paid attention.

"What the _fuck_ just happened?" the hunter was asking, looking properly shaken but hiding it well. Maybe one day she'd tell him that he hadn't been the easiest to put under her spell – in fact, he had actually resisted at first, a rarity in itself – but for now, it was amusing to see the stark realization cross his face.

"I just put you under my aura for a few moments, that's all," she said, eyes flickering to his once before returning to the floor.

"How can you do that?"

"All vampires can do it, to some extent," she said irritably.

"No! I mean that the power limiter shouldn't allow you _any_ power! How is it possible that you're able to even use _some_ to put someone under a fuckin' _spell_?"

"It isn't a spell," she said, almost as a reflex, as she pulled her robe tighter around herself. She was warmer now, true, and now she could feel the heat of her body, but Rukia was by no means fully restored. It would take more blood than what she had taken.

Ichigo noticed that even though some of the color had returned to her cheeks, she still appeared cold. "Hey. You're still cold."

She ignored his statement.

Ichigo looked down at his wrist, the wound half-closed, still bleeding slightly, a raw red and looking chaffed. "I thought you were going to take all the blood from me," he said, "I can tell you didn't take enough."

Rukia didn't know if she was tolerating his seemingly honest scrutiny just because she had to, or if she was annoyed with his presence and simply wished him to leave her be. She leaned her head back against the glass. "You're…" she stopped to swallow, "you…you're so stupid; there's a limit to how much…blood a vampire can take, before it gets dangerous."

With all the information flashing around him, Ichigo was listening intently. "Why? Because you might take too much?"

"That…and the fact that if I kept at your wound, my aura would steal into yours, and that would be the beginning of turning you."

"Turning me?" He looked confused before it dawned on him. "You mean, into a vampire?"

"No. I mean into a daisy."

He ignored her sarcasm. "Why didn't you keep drinking?"

Before she could really think about her answer, Rukia gave a dry laugh. "And then what? Turn you? I should hardly think that you would like to become that which you hunt, especially in times like these."

Ichigo looked slightly confused.

"Now get out."

He was about to make some snappy remark when he noticed that she looked…well, tired. She had leaned back against the glass of the cell and her eyes were closed. A strange feeling was stirring in his chest, one that he didn't realize until he'd opened his mouth to speak, then closed it. And it wasn't until he had gotten up and stepped out the door did Ichigo, to some extent, realize what he was feeling.

Gratitude?

He was honestly grateful that she hadn't turned him?

Any minute now, pigs were going to sprout wings.

But it was especially true. That vamp had gotten him under her spell (no matter if she didn't call it one), had gotten him to the point where he probably would have done anything and everything in his invincible dream state. She could have drained him before his guard realized danger. She could have slashed his neck in his weakness. Ichigo hadn't realized how close to danger he had actually been putting himself, that reckless head of his taking control of his emotions and making him do things others wouldn't have dared.

But she had _not_ done anything to him, and had even pushed him away before any danger of him becoming a vampire could set in. Even though she hadn't been satisfied.

There really wasn't _that much_ to warrant gratitude, Ichigo decided – and after all, she was his prisoner – but other feeling still remained. He stepped out of the capsule, closed it securely, made sure to barricade it with all the ten thousand actions needed to enclose the vampire in her cell.

If he hadn't been lying to himself, Ichigo could have laughed.

Gratitude.

Fringed with respect.

* * *

This time, stepping into the conference room, Ichigo was a little unsure as to what exactly he was doing there. It was only a few hours after he'd left the vampire in her cell. However, when in Training, Orihime had handed him a personal summons by Yoruichi and Ichimaru themselves.

Without even seeing them, Ichigo knew at once that the two were already in the room. Yoruichi and Ichimaru were at the top of all the hunters' bases in Japan, and so a personal summons by both of them at once was no little thing.

Ichimaru was sitting, Yoruichi flanking his side and looking impressively foreboding.

"Kurosaki Ichigo."

He swallowed – not in nervousness – but said nothing.

"We have been observing this vampire over the past couple of days, and we've come to realize that the vampire is awfully friendly with you," Ichimaru said, steepling his fingers on the cold metal table. His grin looked almost neurotic. Ichigo couldn't tell whether the tone of his voice was condescending, insinuating, or just sounding too damn amused for his own good.

"You see, Kurosaki-san, we decided that this time we would observe the vampire instead of torturing it for information like we had in the past. All we ended up with was a dead vampire – if you'll excuse the pun – and with no information whatsoever," Yoruichi said. "You provided us with another solution. And it seems to be working. We've learned more from her in two days than all of our previous captures combined."

"Thank you, Shihouin-san," Ichigo said, though he wasn't sure if that was the right thing to say.

"And in any case, Kurosaki-kun, I'll get right to the point." Ichimaru leaned forward, his smile widening. It did not make Ichigo feel any less tense. "Both Yoruichi-san and I have discussed this situation, and we feel that it would be greatly in our favor were the vampire to open up further and release information voluntarily – perhaps without knowing so."

"But…how's that possible?"

"Nobody knows what is possible, but the vampire seems to talk only to you. That is why Yoruichi-san and I have designed a special mission."

Silence.

"You will try to become the vampire's friend."

"What?" Ichigo recoiled sharply, unconsciously taking a step back. His superiors couldn't be _serious_, not when they knew about his past…!

"We said, Kurosaki-san, that you will try to become the vampire's friend," Yoruichi said, and she was staring at him with her piercing eyes again. She crossed her arms. "I know how you must feel," she added in a quieter tone, "this would not be easy for any hunter, especially those who joined us with a similar past. But Ichimaru-san and I believe you can do it."

Ichigo took in a sharp breath. Now that the news had been flung at him, it was easier to try and digest his mission.

"Like Ichimaru-san mentioned, the whole point of this mission – you may think of it as one – is to obtain more information from the vampire. Hostile and uncertain as she probably is now, there will be no information readily given, and I doubt that torture would have much effect on one like her. However, should you become her friend…be the only person who would stand up for her leniency, for her survival, for her rights…if the situation were reversed, Kurosaki-san, what would you do to that person?"

Ichigo lowered his head. He already knew before thinking.

"That is exactly it, Kurosaki-san."

Silence came at a low buzz; one of the machines in the other room was vibrating against the wall.

"So…you want me to…"

"Do everything you can to get on her good side, especially in front of the vampire. It will most likely take a while. Trust, especially across long-standing barriers of warfare, will not come in just a day. You may be seen as crazy by the rest of your unit. You may be seen as unbelievable by the rest of the hunters, but no one else is to know of this. I don't want too many mouths running off around here."

Ichigo nodded.

"Do you understand your mission?"

"Yes."

"Are you willing to take it on?"

"…yes."

"Good. We are going to start spreading rumors about our intent of torture, and it will be your job to fight against it. If you can, in front of the vampire, so she can see that you're taking an active role in her fight."

He nodded, throat tight.

"Very good, Kurosaki-san. I expect to hear the rumors that you've gone crazy any day now." Yoruichi gave him a rare half-smile, and Ichigo tried smiling back, but he thought it would come off as more of a grimace, so he didn't.

"Dismissed."

* * *

Rukia was in half a mind to take off her robe and use it to cover her face. All the humans constantly watching her made her nervous and averse to showing weakness.

There seemed to be more people than usual, actually. The door at the far end of the room was forever opening and closing with the cold swish of the door's mechanics, allowing more people in and less people out.

"Hey! Bloodsucker!"

It was those same people from before…the girl was still holding back, but the boy brazenly broke away from the crowd and again came up to her cell. He rapped on the glass. How the hell had he gotten in again?

"Hey, guess what I heard," he leered at her through the glass, "I heard that Shihouin and Ichimaru are setting up sector 13-13 to be used at some unknown date from know. Know what's there, bloodsucker?"

She simply closed her eyes and pretended to be bored.

"No one comes right out and says it, but everyone knows that people get _tortured_ down there," he said with a grin. "Only captains and up know what goes on. But they can't keep us stupid forever. You're gonna get tortured, bloodsucker! I wonder what they'll do to ya? Cut you open, exposure to UV, starve you, shoot you…" he gave a laugh that chilled Rukia's blood; this guy was a sadist! "I wanna be there!"

"Excuse me."

That voice cut through all the laughter and froze it instantly.

"What are you doing in here, Asano?"

The voice was so frigidly dangerous that even Rukia's eyes opened.

"Asano, I thought I told you that you were forbidden from coming in here again. And I'm quite sure that Shihouin-san or Ichimaru-soutaichou hasn't issued you a pass. Are you really so keen on getting yourself into a detainment sector as well?"

"N – no, Kurosaki-taichou…I promise I won't be found in here again," Keigo stammered out, trying but failing not to look intimidated. The look on his taichou's face was enough to scare the shit out of him. Ichigo looked livid.

Keigo had started to edge towards the door, forgetting all about Chizuru.

"Why do you keep coming here?" Apparently, Ichigo wasn't feeling so generous. "Why do you keep insisting on harassing this vampire? Were you in the vampire's place, would you like someone coming up to your cage and banging on it, disturbing you while you just want to punch his _fucking_ face in but can't?"

The entire room was silent. Keigo was gritting his teeth.

"Kurosaki-taichou, I am very sorry, I promise it won't happen again."

"Don't apologize to _me_. Were you harassing _me_? I don't think so. Apologize to _her_." And without looking, his finger shot out in the direction of Rukia's cell, everyone in the room suddenly sported disbelieving expressions on their faces.

"What? Kurosaki-taichou, you want me to–"

"When I say do something, I mean NOW, Asano!" he roared.

And so the unit member had no choice; though he was not a part of unit two, he could not disobey a captain's orders. He turned to Rukia, and she could see the seething disgust that crept across his face, that which the orange-haired hunter could not see because he was faced in the opposite direction.

"So _sorry_, vampire," he bit out, though no one in the room doubted the invalidity of his words. He turned to Ichigo.

"Very good. Dismissed, Asano. I never want to see your face in here again. And as for the rest of you, get out."

They dared not disobey his order, especially when he seemed so keen on taking his temper out on someone. Quicker than a blink, they'd filed out silently, closing the door until silence pervaded the wide room.

She saw him stand there for a moment before heading over to her cell. "Hey. Vampire. I…I was just wondering if…if you have to drink blood from people."

Why was it that she always felt so prompted to answer his annoying questions? "Well, you know, I am a vampire."

"Yeah, yeah…that wasn't what I meant, I meant…does it always have to be from someone? Like, a living person?"

"No."

"But I thought–"

"What you _think_ and what you _know_ are two very different things, hunter," she said. "Just because you think something doesn't mean it ought to be true. Don't jump to the conclusion that you know all about vampires just because you got lucky and caught one."

The insult stung. "I wouldn't say that I know everything about vampires, just as you don't know everything about hunters."

"I wouldn't say that either."

"…"

"…"

"…so…does all your blood really need to be from a living person?"

"Why do you ask again?"

"I need to know."

"Why do you need to know?"

"Will you just answer the question?'

"Why should I?"

"Can you stop answering my questions with fucking questions?"

"Only if you stop asking them."

They broke off then. His temper was rising again, it was obvious, but she respected his trying to keep it in check. "I need to know because if you don't get anything eat you're going to die. And we don't want you to die."

"Oh really?" she replied scathingly. "I'm sure that when you're torturing my body for information, morality flies out the window."

She saw the briefest confused look flit over his face before it turned thoughtful, if not slightly angry. There was no reason for the latter to be present, and so she stared at him, wondering if he was going to explain himself.

"I…I don't like torture," he said (which, unbeknownst to her, wasn't _that_ far a stretch of the truth). "With all the other vampires it's landed us nowhere. If it's not effective, then why would we keep implementing it?"

"You never know," she shrugged with an air of cool mock-nonchalance, "it might work on one vampire these days. But it won't work on me. Kill me however you want; I know where my loyalties lie."

"Yeah, I suspected as much," he said. His eyes drew to the side. Was it because she was staring at him too hard? Maybe she was…oops. "I don't know about this torture thing, I mean, I'm a captain, and they haven't told me anything concrete…"

Kaien had never cared about her.

Just the thought of him was enough to bring that suppressed shiver to the surface; she still hadn't fully recovered from having been so thoroughly close to death by starvation. The hunter saw the minute shiver that spread from her shoulders down.

"Hey."

She said nothing.

"Are you still hungry?"

"Look, if you have even the remotest fragment of intelligence, you'll know not to ask stupid questions and leave when you should."

"I'll take that as a yes." He walked over to the control panel at the foot of the cell, typing in a few commands that went by too fast for her to memorize. His finger hovered over a key with kanji undecipherable to her from upside-down, partially hidden by another lever.

"What are you doing?"

"You know, I really don't know myself." He seemed to think for a bit, hesitating, before taking the plunge. Deftly pressing the red button – why was it _always_ red? – the door to the cell slid open. It was too bad it took her by surprise to really take advantage of it.

He hauled himself into the cell and came close.

"You can take blood from me again. Just, this time, don't put your spell on me."

"For the last time, it _isn't_ a fucking _spell_," she said with ill temper. "And how do you know I won't just take advantage of this and escape? Real smart, jackass, leaving the door open." For indeed, behind his back, the door was open; several layers of glass were open and it was just beyond her reach.

"It would be suicide to leave this cell and you know it," he smirked at her. "For one, you probably can't walk as well as could normally have because you haven't stood up in days. Second of all, there are over ten vampire aura detectors in this room, and should you step out of this cell without them being disarmed, the alarms will go off faster than you can say "goodbye." Third of all, you don't know the codes to get out of this building." He smirked at her, and a dark scowl crept over her face. His simple attitude had distinguished him from Kaien before, but when he was trying to act so superior…

Just to piss him off, she looked into his eyes and slowly tried to pry her will into his. He felt the nudge and threw his eyes off to the side. "I said not to do that!"

"And since when are you in any position to tell _me_ what to do?"

"Since_ I_ caught you!'

"You were just lucky. Don't think you're so _exceptional_ just because you could catch one vampire!"

He sighed then, probably realizing that they were getting nowhere. "Look. Just drink, all right? Without putting me under your spell."

"Do you even _realize_ why some vampires use their mind aura?" she scowled.

"No." He offered her his wrist.

"It'll hurt. A lot. As much as if you were slicing open your own wrist."

She had to grudgingly respect that his fortitude never wavered in the least.

"Is that why you do it?"

She would have given anything at that moment to have been able to say no.

But she said nothing, and that was a yes.

Even if he was a hunter, she still did not like giving pain to others, especially if it was relatively unwarranted. Rukia didn't like giving pain at all. And if by some miracle she ever managed to forget about Kaien, she doubted that the scars of her memory would ever fully recede.

And yet, she still found it hard to believe this _hunter_ was helping her.

She took his wrist as her fangs were already enlarging in her mouth.

* * *

**tsuzuku**


	6. First Night of Friendship

This fic is rated R because of language, violence, and sensuality. If any of the aforementioned offends you, please do not read.

Review if you like. No flames, please.

* * *

**kaerichi  
**Chapter 6

* * *

The figure raced through the night, painstakingly trying to avoid the eyes of humans while they were still out. After all, it was still early. He was taking a real chance by flying. However, if he didn't fly, he was going to be late.

The stars were bright overhead against the smooth, new black blanket of the sky; though, with no moon, they offered about as much light as an unlit candle. Renji breathed even though the air was thin, using the back of his hand to wipe blood away from the corner of his mouth – the result of a fast meal. Clouds whizzed by his head as he rode the wind.

Finally, after another four or so minutes of flight, he was able to spot the meeting place: a tall building in the center of Shinjuku's infamous collection of shops, restaurants, and bars. He landed on the building and stepped through the balcony as he spotted Hitsugaya.

"Put on your damn hood, Renji," the younger (only in appearance) hissed at him.

"Yeah, nice to see your fuckin' face too, Hitsugaya-sama," Renji replied with exaggerated propriety. "Only a couple days out of near-obliteration and already back to being a bastard, eh?"

"Renji, I am serious. Put on your hood before the hunters come."

"Why? For fuck's sake, we're gonna take 'em off anyway…" But Renji obediently reached around his robe for his hood, securing it well over his face so that his features were hidden in shadow. The room was pitch dark as well, and a human would've had to squint to realize that there were actually many bodies in the room, silent, never shifting.

Renji broke that by leaning down to Hitsugaya's ear. "So who of the hunters are coming?"

"Probably Shihouin Yoruichi, maybe Ichimaru Gin."

"They'd send their two most elite leaders just for this?"

"And a couple others. You have to realize, Renji, this is the first time that our kind has ever asked for a peaceable meeting – a momentary truce, they called it – between our warring sides." Hitsugaya didn't look pleased at the thought, most likely because it had been the vampires to give in first.

"So what? We won't give up against the hunters."

"This is not about our war."

"It isn't?" Renji asked, genuinely surprised. When he got the voice message from Urahara, he had automatically assumed that they were meeting the hunters for discussion of war scenarios…possible outcomes…

"No."

Renji waited for him to elaborate, but he didn't.

"So what's it about then?"

And yet, even if his mind was nowhere near as advanced as his, Renji could see the words that fell from his lips even before Hitsugaya had opened his mouth. It was the same time that ten other cloaked figures walked into the room, causing the smallest elder to speak in a voice barely above a whisper:

"_Rukia_."

* * *

Rukia brought her hunter's wrist up to her lips, skimming it as she always did, enjoying the warmth and the thought of what lay just beyond the skin. Her eyes flew to the hunter's once; he stared back defiantly, and perhaps when he did not feel the telltale nudge on his mind he continued to stare into her eyes.

She broke their eye contact by using her fangs to lightly pierce the skin, not biting too deep. All the muscles in the arm tensed but her hunter made not a sound.

Her fangs retracted as she began to lap at the blood flowing out of the wound not too quickly, never letting a single drop fall.

The wound was too shallow. She hadn't cut deep enough. She lengthened her fangs again and used them to pierce deeper into the vein, though she kept her mouth over the wound and the hunter probably hadn't seen the action.

His breath quickened for a fraction of a second. She didn't blame him. Having fangs in your skin was not pleasant to most humans, and that last pierce was the equivalent of a light stab in the wrist. But he had asked not to be put under her aura.

Dutifully she measured out the amount she drank, careful not to take more than she should – he probably hadn't even fully recovered from the other day, either.

It was amazing that her detestation for killing things even extended to hunters.

With her tongue pushed against the wound, using the faintest trace of her aura to seal the skin, Rukia truthfully felt better than she had in days. She was almost full, nearly comfortable, and had gotten used to the slight detached feeling caused by the aura restrictors on her wrists.

But this hunter spoke the truth. By what limited amount remained of her once super-human senses, she could tell that they were far, far underground, more than just one or two stories. She had no idea if she was even still in Japan. And while Rukia was an immensely high-ranked vampire, even she would have no chance at a quarter power trying to fight out of a building hoarded with hunters.

She released him.

He released a breath he probably hadn't realized he'd been holding.

She stared at him for a second while he examined his wrist, pinching the skin, amazed that it had closed so seamlessly. All the evidence that remained of the bite was just a bit of red skin that would most likely fade in ten minutes.

Resentment welled up; he had (probably without knowing it) saved her again. "Jesus, are you masochistic or what?" she asked him touchily, breaking the dead silence. "Even a hunter – especially a hunter – should know the dangers of subjecting themselves willingly to being a vampire's prey, or are you just that stupid?"

"Shut the hell up," he replied to her half-heartedly. "I just thought that it would be better for me as a hunter to know what it felt like."

She snorted. "What, thinking of that _big_ promotion now that you've caught me, is that it?"

"I didn't mean it like that," he snapped, "it's just that, most times, no one can hurt me."

"Oh, I see. Can you say egotistical?"

"Out of more than fifty vamps I've faced and twenty-eight killed, not one has managed to land a real wound on me," he said, ignoring her earlier comment. He grinned down at her cockily. "That includes you too, fearless vampire. Although my statistics should be fifty-two vamps faced, twenty-eight killed, and one captured."

"Oh, _please_. You probably just killed all newborns," she said dismissively. "Anybody with a gun can kill a newborn if you know the brainless concept of point and shoot."

"A newborn? I don't think so. Whenever there's trouble on missions I always get handed the shit. My best kill in a face-off was…Yamamoto, I think his name was."

"_What_?"

She turned her face to him so fast that he looked caught off guard. "You mean, _Yamamoto Genryuusai_? _Him_?"

"Well, I don't know if we're talking about the same vamp, but if he was tall, old, with a long beard and the weirdest-ass ability to move through air in just a second – then yeah, that's the guy."

_I don't believe it,_ Rukia thought, her eyes wide. _I just don't believe it. THIS is the hunter that killed Yamamoto? This was the hunter that so shocked Japan's leader and elder councils that they had to undergo a huge change to fortify the protection of the upper class? THIS is him? I can't believe it!_

"What, shocked?" he asked her. Then he frowned. "I killed him, but he really fucked up my hunting technique at first; he would've killed me if my strike hadn't hit him when he was doing his instant-movement thing. That was the only time I was ever hurt real bad on a mission."

She continued to stare at him.

_I can't believe it was him. The instant movement he keeps referring to must be shunpa. Only vampires of a certain aura level can do it…Yamamoto definitely would've been able to. But still, HIM! Yamamoto was killed around fourteen months ago, so that means, if he really was the one, then he was even younger than he is now…!_

"It was too bad I didn't get to capture him though," the hunter was saying offhandly, "It wasn't ever confirmed, but I think he was really high up on the vamp hierarchy." He glanced at her to see if she would validate the statement.

_Yamamoto and I were on the same aura level, but after his death, Urahara only got the top position because of his experience. That means…even without these aura restrictors on my wrist…I might not be as powerful as this hunter! How is that even POSSIBLE? Humans aren't supposed to be as powerful as vampires! Never!_

"Hey, are you okay?" the hunter asked, when her thoughts continued to leave her silent. She snapped out of her funk.

"I was just thinking."

"Like, duh."

"Look, if you're going to reciprocate my statements with something idiotic, just shut up and don't say anything at all!" she snapped at him, her disbelief lowering her tolerance level. Before, this man had just been too much like Kaien, in face and mind, a total bastard and moreover an arrogant one.

Now, she had to consider the fact that he might be obscenely powerful without even knowing it. That didn't settle well.

He stared at her for a second more before getting up and out the door. "Well, fine. I don't know what I said, but obviously if you're going to stew then there's nothing I can say or do to make you feel any better."

_Make me feel any better?_ The words had a hollow echo in her mind. _Since when does ANY hunter care about making a vampire "feel any better?"_

"So I'm going." He turned back to the control panel and shut her in. When that was done, he set off, though not without turning back again.

"You know, I meant what I said earlier about the torture thing. I don't like it. Maybe I can find some way to stall it or something…you never know. Until then, don't die, eh?"

The last words had not been meant offensively, Rukia realized, as she watched him go out the door and heard a computerized lock set into place from the outside. He had just meant it the way most other humans would have taken it…a request for her to stay well.

She glowered at the closed door before pulling her robes up to her chin.

* * *

Shihouin Yoruichi, hunter through and through as she was, would have made an excellent vampire, Renji decided, as he sat slightly diagonal across her at the long table and watched. Her stealth was silent, her words were sharp, her power was great, and her eyes…she had amazing eyes, the color and clarity that you knew would shine in the darkness whenever given the chance.

Rukia had eyes like that, too.

"So what you're basically stating is that you wish for us to free Kuchiki Rukia over to you, and in exchange you would release ten prisoners of ours that you detained on the last raid."

"Yes," Urahara said. He and Shihouin seemed to be in a face-off after their hoods had come off in accordance with the truce; their eyes barely flickered away from the other.

Renji managed to hide a grin at the last line. He knew that they'd gone out specially to trap the hunters – he hadn't known for what purpose then, but now he knew: it was to trade over for Rukia. He thought the hunters were getting a pretty good deal.

"No."

If the sudden flux of vampiric aura could then be translated to human actions, there would've been collective gasp. As it was, Renji was too stunned to utter a sound.

"I say no because we do not wish to hand over Kuchiki Rukia any time soon. Rest assured, she will stay well, and torture is not primary on our agenda. However, I am afraid that I cannot acknowledge your request. Do with your captured hunters as you will." She deliberately stared at Urahara for this.

The sick, twisted _bitch_! She was sacrificing the lives of ten of her men without even _thinking_! What the fuck kind of commander just sat there and toyed with the lives of her soldiers without even thinking about it for even one fucking _second_?

His aura was raging, and everyone could sense it. His was a leaping fire while everyone else's was just flickering in disturbance. Hitsugaya, standing behind him, placed a warning hand on his shoulder, pushing Renji's aura back using his own. The chibi elder's fingers were so tight into his shoulder that it could have cut skin if Renji hadn't been wearing clothing.

He could not afford to lose his cool in the meeting. This was a truce. It would not reflect well on Japan's vampiric society to attack in the moments of a called armistice.

Only very, very advanced hunters could sense vampiric auras; other humans, if one ever brushed them by, would know the feeling as "goosebumps" or "hair standing on the back of the neck." If Yoruichi or any of the other nine guards sensed Renji's aura, they never made to show it. She had never stopped staring down Urahara.

With all the finesse a human could possess, Yoruichi stood up silently and exited, her nine guards trailing, backing up to the door and never turning their backs on the occupants of the room. Only when they'd been gone for a minute did Renji breathe out a hard breath, an annoying human habit he'd picked up from Rukia.

Quicker than a flash, Renji lashed out with the anger he'd been keeping in check. Hitsugaya removed his hand from his shoulder as Renji struck the closest thing at hand: the long meeting table, which broke neatly in half from the strength of his initial blow. The sound of the attack seemed to echo in the silent room, but Renji offered no explanation.

"Stupid fuckin' _hunters_…" he muttered, standing up abruptly and heading to the balcony. "Hitsugaya, Urahara-san, I'm going. See you tomorrow." And he leapt off into the night.

Hitsugaya turned to Urahara, the latter of which leaned back in his chair, propped his feet up on the broken table, and tipped his hat down low. "Ah…" he sighed, "I have a feeling this is going to turn out to be quite troublesome indeed, don't you think, Hitsugaya-kun?"

Though he didn't see it, Hitsugaya nodded, before his eyes turned to the door the hunters had exited from.

Very, very troublesome indeed.

* * *

Ichigo had gone up to meet with Yoruichi and Ichimaru right after his conversation with the vampire; however, he learned that Yoruichi was out somewhere and wouldn't be back for a few hours. So it had been just him and Ichimaru.

"Anything new to report, Kurosaki-kun?"

"Yes," he'd said. "It seems that not all a vampire's blood needs to come from a living person, but it seems the vamp will take nothing else. Perhaps it ties in with the cold."

Ichimaru nodded and smiled at him. "Very good, Kurosaki-kun," he'd said back, flashing him the ok sign. "I'll talk this over with Shihouin-san and we will most likely get back to you soon. Dismissed. Oh, and continue the good work."

Not bad.

Not bad at all.

Being friendly was easier than he thought it'd be. All he had to do was show the vampire a bit of trust, and she reciprocated it by talking to him as well. Somehow, seeing her speak, think, get annoyed or angry or thoughtful…that made her so much more real than any other time he'd known her as simply a vampire.

Almost on a whim, his feet turned back to detainment sector 13-1; that was before Orihime came over the address system, calling for him to lead another unit for a raid.

Sigh.

He'd come back tomorrow.

* * *

**tsuzuku**


	7. The Friendship Continues

This fic is rated R because of language, violence, and sensuality. If any of the aforementioned offends you, please do not read.

Thank you to all my reviewers. I read everything you guys write to me and it makes me really happy :-D

I promised to update this today for two of my pals over at Bleach Forums, so if any of you are wondering why the quick update...well yeah hehehe ;-p

Review if you like. No flames, please.

* * *

**kaerichi  
**Chapter 7

* * *

Ichigo gave a grunt of disgust as he dragged a rather heavy body down the corridor and tossed it in the nearest cell. The body flopped against the wall and made no other movement. The orange-haired hunter wiped his sweating brow before closing the door, sealing it with a code, and surveying the pitiful form for a few seconds before cursing and stalking off.

He had been out on a raid mission all night – most of it had just been surveillance until around five in the morning, and then finally he had thought it all right to move in, and then he'd surprised some vamps, and then that stupid fucking _idiot_ had…!

Against the cold metal, his footsteps were hard and he stormed further down the corridor, stopping in front of one unimpressive door and punching in (literally) the code.

The vampire was there, sitting in her cell. He couldn't see her face because her hood was pulled over. Ichigo walked right up and undid the codes to get the door open, hardly waiting for it to pull back all the way before climbing inside and pulling the front of the vamp's hood to get her closer to him.

The hood abruptly fell back and her eyes blinked open, her first look a mix between surprise and wariness, but he didn't care about that.

"Tell me," he said, "do you know a vampire named Kurotsuchi Mayuri?"

"Yes," she replied, and was about to say something else, but he cut her off.

"Would he have powers to manipulate the human mind like you do?"

"What do you mean by manipulate?" she looked annoyed at him again. "I don't _manipulate_. Who do you think I am, Harry Potter? The only reason that you think my mind aura looks like a so-called _spell_ to you is because it just places your mind in a sense of relief – one where you can't feel your body."

"So this Kurotsuchi freak wouldn't be able to, say, take control of a human's mind and make them do things they wouldn't, right?"

"No. Such a sad day for you to run into that "freak," as appropriately termed as that word for him is," she smirked. "And in any case, you look like you ran into an angry food processor. I didn't think Mayuri was _that_ strong…or did you just trip over your shoelaces and he landed a lucky strike?"

"Shut up…" he replied unenthusiastically, "it's just that…fuck, I was on a raid all night, and then, near the end, I run into all these freaks in a building, and then the leader stays and one of my own unit members turn on me!"

"Ah…a traitor in the ranks, hm? Not too loyal." She seemed amused by the thought.

"Fuckin' Asano…I should've known that it was never his style to lie down and take it," Ichigo muttered, half to himself.

"So what the hell happened to you anyway?"

"I faced off against this leader and then Asano jumped me! Fuckin' pinned my arms from the back while that bloodsucker attacked me," he spat in spiteful temper. "Stupid jackass…I turned to the side so that Kurotsuchi knocked him away from me, kicked Asano where it counts, and then blasted off that fucking bloodsucker's head." He wiped at the bit of blood that had escaped his mouth during all his talking, the result of a cut lip.

"Hn. Well, can't exactly say I'm sorry to see Mayuri go. He was a bit of a pain." She looked at him then, most likely taking in all his injuries.

He felt worse than dog shit. His lip wasn't busted (but pretty close to it), he had four long slashes running down his right temple to nose, the skin just under his left eye was bruised purple, and there were various smaller cuts on his arms and neck.

"Well, if you're obviously feeling so bad, why did you come here?'

"Well, duh, I had to find out if Asano was being controlled or not, didn't I? Although a sick little twisted part of me is satisfied that he wasn't, so that I can now beat him to shit without worrying about getting reprimanded for "actions unbecoming of a captain" and all that fuckin' jazz," he said, in a mock-Yoruichi tone.

"You actually thought that Mayuri could be controlling Asano Keigo?" Rukia laughed. "That's probably the highest compliment someone ever paid the freak. He's just a wannabe elite who toyed around with some weird stuff, thinking he'd use human science against us and make himself more powerful. I don't _think_ so."

They sat in silence for a while.

"I'm hungry."

"…you're what?"

"I'm hungry."

"Oh…here then." He offered her his wrist.

"Not for blood, you idiot. If I took any more of your blood you'd probably collapse and die and then they'd _really_ find reason to cut my heart out."

"For what, then? Can't be human food."

"Of course human food; what else would I eat? Grass?"

"But, vampires don't–"

"Didn't I just tell you the other day to stop acting as if you know every damn thing about vampires?"

"You mean you eat human food?"

She rolled her eyes.

"I thought you could survive on just blood!"

"I can. But I'd probably need to take blood every day for that."

Ichigo sat, digesting the newest information presented. "Okay, fine…I'll go get you food," he said as he got up. The building was practically a self-serving small town, what with their own school (karate, fencing, and all that good stuff), practice arenas, shooting ranges, kitchens, apartments, laundry, manufacturing plant (mostly for weapons), and of course, other places only the high-level hunters knew about.

"And while you're at it, go fix your face, would you?" Rukia said, her eyes off to side before turning to his. "It's horrible to look at a monster right now."

He grumbled about her comment as he climbed out, but inwardly was thinking that she did care about how he looked, after all.

After cleaning up his face, reporting his success back to Ichimaru, and grabbing some miso soup and grilled mackerel from the kitchen – how the hell was he supposed to know what she liked to eat? – Ichigo headed back.

He sat across from her and watched as she ate in silence, noticing the size of her hands, pale and delicate. They were almost too slight to be a vampire's.

Come to think of it, this vampire was a paradox in so many ways. Not only did she have those weird wings, she didn't like to kill, her power was absolutely _crazy_, and there was no way in hell she was full Japanese. Not with those eyes.

"You aren't full Japanese, are you?" he tossed out casually, watching as she abruptly stopped chewing and swallowed whatever was in her mouth. The hand holding her chopsticks lowered as her face turned up to his.

"No, I wasn't."

No surprise there. "What else, then?"

He could tell by the way her face tightened, by the look in her eyes as she stared at some point directly below his chin, that she wasn't planning on answering his question any time soon. The chopsticks in her hand – wooden ones – broke in half.

"All right, all right, I get it…you don't have to answer."

She put the box down. There was still a little bit of fish remaining, but Ichigo figured that she was finished. Silence descended.

"So…what do you like to do? Or used to do, anyway."

"Why do you give a damn?" she asked him, staring at him with very straightforward Yoruichi-esque eyes. The answering question came so quickly after his that Ichigo had the feeling that she'd thought about this before.

But all the same, he fumbled for an answer. "I…I don't know. Just curious."

He half-expected that she would reply with a glare and some remark along the lines of "well, be less curious and leave me the fuck alone." Therefore, when she broke her gaze and looked down at her hands, gently playing with the edge of her robe, he was surprised. And he was even more surprised when she said, "…reading."

"What?"

"Reading. I like to read."

"O – oh yeah? Me too," he said, trying to think of a clever comeback. Her misjudged response had caught him off guard.

"And watching old movies."

"Old movies?"

"The black-and-white tales of samurai."

"Did you know any?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"The last of the true samurai were long dead by the time I was born."

Ah. That gave him some insight as to how old she really was. And if what she just said was true, then she couldn't have been that old.

Interesting, very interesting. She couldn't have been more than 250 years old. That was way young for a vampire, especially one of her stature. Ichigo reached up to scratch his cheek and winced as his fingers scraped the bruise.

Rukia watched before coming closer, moving somewhat clumsily due to her legs being asleep, stopping right in front of him. He was about to panic and flash out his dagger, thinking she meant him harm (after all he was risking a lot being in there with no guards), but she simply placed the pads of her fingers on his cheek.

Wait, what? It didn't hurt.

"Quiet," she said, perhaps seeing the confusion in his eyes. There was warmth at his cheek – it grew very warm, almost hot, and when she pulled her hand away, the warmth lingered like sunlight on a spring morning. The other side received the same treatment.

Ichigo touched his cheek and looked at his reflection in one of the metal bars of the cell. The four scratches on his cheek were gone, as was the bruise. He turned back to the vampire. "You healed it? How? I thought…"

To his eyes, she appeared tired. She was slumping back against the wall, back in her original spot, and her eyes were a little softer than he'd ever seen them. But she replied, "Not all vampires can heal…and besides, I could tell Mayuri gave you those scratches on your cheek. He's dealt with all sorts of scientific things and there was a strange aura coming from the wound, so before it could turn into something bad I healed it."

Ichigo let the question of how she could still use her aura slide. "You mean it was dangerous?"

"Probably. It wasn't his aura, so it wouldn't have turned you into a vampire, but would have done something else. Killed you, most likely."

"And you healed it," he said. There was that funny feeling again, bordering gratitude – that was a strong word – and something else that he couldn't quite place.

Well, he didn't want to place it. He didn't need to start feeling as if he owed something to this vampire.

"It might have come off you and affected me," she said in an offhand tone, eyes not looking at him. "I just didn't want to deal with it. Mayuri would laugh his ass off if he ever found out that he'd killed me by just an extension of his poison."

"Huh, that so…" Ichigo yawned. The yawn was a reminder of just how tired he really was, having been up most of the night with little sleep the day before. The muscles in his legs were aching in protest just from being straightened. "Well anyway," he said, "I gotta go, maybe I'll come back tomorrow, but since I just came back from a mission I need sleep. You understand."

She said nothing, but he was accustomed to that from her anyway – and so got to his feet and climbed out, taking the plate of remaining food with him. Maybe if he had looked back, he would have seen that the vampire watched him for quite a long time.

* * *

"So, you have learned all this, Kurosaki-san?"

He nodded to Yoruichi, trying not to show how tired he really was. The surge of fury caused by Keigo's betrayal had kept him alive earlier; now all he wanted to do was sink into a bed. He had already explained about the situation and all the things he'd learned so far.

"Well, well, this is certainly going better than we expected, hm, Shihouin-san?" Ichimaru said, leaning back in the chair to look up at her face. "Kurosaki-kun is doing a very good job of getting information."

She nodded at him, then turned back to Ichigo. "You've been doing very well, Kurosaki-san, but before you go, I should tell you something."

"Yes, Shihouin-san?"

"You see, the vampires recently called a meeting – a temporary truce – and we met to discuss certain things. Yes, I know it sounds absurd," she added, at his look, "but I've already gone to the meeting and there was no bloodshed. This is why I was not present the other day when you were giving Ichimaru-san your information."

"A meeting?"

"Yes. And quite surprisingly, it was about your vampire."

Suddenly he wasn't so tired any more.

* * *

After he had finished a relatively easy mission the next day, Ichigo came to his vampire's cell. With him he had a few books.

She looked at him strangely, wondering what he brought them for; well, that should have been obvious.

"Here, they're for you."

She took them after hesitating. "I…"

"You like to read, right? I didn't know what kind of books, so I, uh, kinda brought a little of everything."

She shuffled through them. "All About Spain? 101 Ways to Plant a Healthy Garden? Money Matters?" She raised an eyebrow at him. "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire?"

"Well, you mentioned Harry Potter the other day," he flushed, "and even if you don't like the story, at least the book's thick enough to last a few days!"

He sat down after closing the door, though it didn't lock. "They're all books that I took from my family, so if their choice of books doesn't coincide with yours, then deal with it. My younger sis likes all kind of fiction, so the wizard book was probably hers."

"Hm…" she said, examining the books more in detail, and not really listening to him.

"So who was your favorite old-time samurai star?"

It wasn't a personal question, but she looked up at him and put the books down before answering. "Maybe…Okawa Hashizo…with all his makeup on, he was good-looking, especially in that last remake of Chushingura they did."

"Aa, Okawa? My dad liked him and Yoshinaga Sayuri, was always comparing her to my mother…" He trailed off into a long explanation of how his father had always said he'd never find a woman to marry cuter than Yoshinaga, but had fallen head over heels for his mother and the rest had been history. Rukia mostly listened.

"So you mean, if your parents never had a formal ceremony, they eloped?"

"Yup. See, my mom's father didn't want her marrying some Japanese dude and settling here, so she just packed up and left her family home. And then she moved in with dad for about a year – he was still in school, so they really had to struggle for a while. And then my dad got his PhD and then mom got pregnant with me, and then yeah…that pretty much ends it."

She gave him a strange look, a compromise between laughing and trying to hold it back. Her face was the least serious that he'd ever seen.

He came back the day after that, and the day after that, and the day after that, and there were days when he would look into her eyes and just feel so totally at ease, and then she would take blood from his wrist – and then there were the days when he just brought her human food and they chatted in the company of each other. The things they talked about weren't important, the kind of trivial information that one would forget within seconds of departure.

It soon became as simple for him to see her as it was like eating in the morning – he didn't think about it, he just _did_. From that one simple subject of what she liked to read, he would ask questions, and learned she liked cucumbers and bunny rabbits, that her age was closer to 150 than 200, and that she'd always wanted to learn karate.

"Why didn't you?" he asked. "You have all the time in the world."

"I'm busy," she'd replied vaguely back. "Especially in this day and age, when things aren't as simple as they were before."

He reported everything that he learned, down to the smallest newest piece of information about her, to Ichimaru and Yoruichi. They listened impassively and often congratulated him on his work. He nodded and accepted the praise, thankful that they had closed everyone off from sector 13-1 but him.

* * *

"For the last time, no. We are not handing over the vampire to anyone. I do not care if you butcher my hunters; if that be the price we pay to keep her, then so be it."

Yoruichi's eyes left Urahara's as she stood up and gathered her robe about her. "I do not want any more meetings. This is to be the last. If you have something to say, then you should well say it now before we never meet again."

Urahara's eyes bored into hers; she could feel it. "We want her around," he said softly, dangerously. "If you are not to return her, then we will have no choice but to attack. This could escalate our war past whatever level of bloodshed we have already attained. Is that really what you want, Shihouin Yoruichi?"

She paused from walking away. "What I want is to keep her. If this vampire is to be the rope between two sides of a tug-of-war, then I swear as I live, I will fight to pull. I will not give her up. Do not underestimate the hunters." And she swept out.

* * *

**tsuzuku**


	8. Finally, Introductions

Relevant notes: the Japanese word "shikon" means several things, and so if a person heard just the word but didn't have the kanji, the meanings could be various. Only by context can it be understood.

One of the meanings of the word "shikon" is the color blue-purple.

Oh, and Rukia's name does kind of sound like the pokemon Lugia, because in Japanese there is no differentiation between "R" and "L" and so all you'd have to change would be the "ki" to "gi."

This fic is rated R because of language, violence, and sensuality. If any of the aforementioned offends you, please do not read.

Review if you like. No flames, please.

* * *

**kaerichi**  
Chapter 8

* * *

Ichigo was in the kitchen, scooping up some rice from the gigantic urn that lay off to the side in one of the large rooms. The tiles were a ruddy brown color and the stainless steel of all the cookware made the room seem almost alive with glinting reflection. People worked about him, doing their jobs, though no one questioned his presence.

That was partly because he was a captain, and partly because everyone thought he was getting a little funny in the head.

Yoruichi and Ichimaru had hit it right on the nose. Rumors were circulating now, about how close he was to his vampire and how he had "passionately" protected her from the taunts of others. It was even rumored that it had been him to step in to try and stop her torture (in which he seemed to have succeeded) – though of course no one knew that the torture rumor had been false anyway.

He was just passing a corridor when some boisterous voices floated up as they walked down to the kitchen.

"Yeah, I heard! I don't know why Shihouin and Ichimaru decided to stop the torture thing, but if Kurosaki-taichou was part of it…I wonder what's gotten into him?"

"Dunno. But Shikon's sure lucky, eh? Ichimaru was famous, ya know, for being able to break minds even worse than bodies."

"Break minds in what?"

"Dunno that either. It's just what I heard. I bet he was just dying to try his hand against Shikon, too! Probably was Shihouin that sided with Kurosaki-taichou – she always did seem softer with the vamps than him. Too bad Shikon's a vamp, though; man, she's hot! Did you see the pic going around now? Makes you want to get a piece of that–"

Ichigo frowned, clearing his throat, and stepped out into the corridor before the man had a chance to finish his sentence. As soon as those two got a glimpse of his hair (two level three trainees, Ichigo noted), they froze in their tracks. Their faces were hilarious.

"Hey," he said. "You called someone "Shikon." Who is that?"

Like it was rehearsed, the two trainees exchanged fearful glances before one said timidly, "…well, eh, Kurosaki-taichou, no one knows the vamp's name, so when she first came everyone just gave her a nickname. "Shikon" was one of the first and I guess it stuck, because everyone calls her that now."

"Shikon?"

"Yes…because, I think, of her hair and eyes?"

Now that he thought about it…

It wasn't the first time he'd thought about the fact that he didn't know her name, but since she had never offered it, he thought it was too much of a personal thing to come right out and ask. She'd never asked for his either, so they had remained "vampire" and "hunter" to each other, and they referred to each other as such.

He wondered what her real name was.

Most of the day had already passed by the time he was able to make it to her cell; in addition to his old captain's duties, now he had the trouble of looking over some new recruits and managing his own personal training schedule.

She was reading when he got there, curled up into her robe – he still didn't know what she was wearing under it, if anything – and looking comfortable. His eyebrow cocked. "A real page-turner, that book, eh?"

"Shut up," she replied with a mock-glare, putting down Harry Potter IV. "There just isn't anything else to do in this cell; what else do you expect me to do? Not exactly the most exciting of rooms they put me in," she added, glaring.

He sat down and sighed. "Yeah, guess so…" His eyes followed the contour of the cell as she continued reading, the only noise the flip of the pages. About ten went by before Ichigo spoke. "Hey, I never told you this, but…the name's Kurosaki Ichigo." Might as well be direct. He turned her and held out his hand, wondering inwardly if she would shake it. "Nice to meet you…I think."

She looked at him, and then at his hand, and slowly put the book down. She was probably wondering where the _hell_ he had just pulled that out from. Her hands were in her lap before she timidly extended one, as though her skin would burn from his, but extended it to shake his hand nonetheless. "…my name is…Rukia. Kuchiki Rukia."

"Rukia?" he asked. "Strange name."

"Not as strange as yours," she retorted, pulling her hand out of his grip. Her palm had been so soft. "I mean, what kind of weird name is Ichigo? Sounds like something I'd like to eat."

"Well at least I _have_ a Japanese name," he said, sticking his lip out. "Unlike _you_, _Rukia_."

"At least my name doesn't sound like a stupid-ass fruit, _Ichigo_," she retorted back.

"At least my name doesn't sound like a fuckin' pocket monster, _Rukia_!"

"At least my name has nicer katakana, _Ichigo_!"

They had a silent battle of wills, each facing off in the other's face, before something about the moment struck them both as funny. They didn't know who was first, but a corner of Ichigo's lip quirked and she saw it, and the corner of Rukia's mouth quirked and he saw it, and before they knew it both had burst out into laughter.

His laugh descended into just a big, sloppy grin, and he looked at her across from him.

_"Too bad Shikon's a vamp, though; man, she's hot!"_

Had others managed to see past her vampire exterior? Ichigo himself had never thought to, of course, because she was a vampire and he was a hunter, and by the due laws of nature they were never meant to mingle. He hated her kind, she hated his, and in the end everything worked out just the way it was supposed to and had always been.

He had never really noticed just how long or dark her eyelashes were, eyes large and wise in a pale, yet delicate face. Her fingers were slim almost to the point of being dainty, and when she smiled, her entire face softened, making her almost unrecognizable from the furious vampire that she had been when she first came. Her face was perfect with skin that just oozed the craving of touch. And her eyes, her captivating eyes, a shade of lavender that he had never seen. And her hair, her dark, fine hair that shone blue when the light passed in the right direction. And her hands, and her fingers, and her smile…

Ichigo knew he was noticing too much.

* * *

It had happened…and when it had, she'd been powerless to stop it.

By some form of the inevitable – there it was, fate was mocking her _again_ – this man had done what she had previously dismissed as impossible.

He had become her friend.

So many days had passed, so many hours of just being with him, talking, he not really prying and she not really trying to be interesting. But they had talked, laughed, found common ground, and fought like any young friends would…

Did that make him her friend? Did that mean she actually liked him as a friend? Or was she simply unused to the total feeling of seclusion in the hunters' detainment ward, and had only attached to him because of her desire for company?

Well, whatever it was, it was beginning to irk her. She would wait until he arrived every day – and true, she would have to fight to keep down her impatience until his arrival, but no one knew that. And true, she _had_ begun to pick out all his differences from Kaien – but when you knew two people physically alike, of course a person would start to pick out their little character quirks that make each one unique. Of course they would.

And then the second most unbelievable thing had happened.

He said an introduction, stuck his hand out for her to shake, and then turned into _himself_.

Ichigo turned into himself in the fact that Rukia had never managed to fully erase Kaien from her conscious whenever Ichigo had been around, as much as she had come to recognize their differences at times. Sometimes, the way Ichigo would just look at her would dredge up a shadow of her former master, and she would have to look away for fear her disgust would show on her face.

But today, when he had introduced himself, those shadows had melted away and all that remained was _Ichigo_. No Kaien. Just Ichigo. And she could finally stand to see him in just that way.

Finally Ichigo regained his breath from laughing and plopped on the floor, picking up her book and the ripped piece of her robe she had been using as a bookmark. The pages rustled as he flipped through it, observing some of the interesting (if not grotesque) chapter illustrations. "You know, I never did get into these things," he said after the silence, as his eye skimmed down the words. " My little sis , Yuzu,was always the one crazy about them."

"You never read Harry Potter? Gee, I'm over a hundred years older than you, and even _I_ know what they're about."

"Well, it's not as if I exactly have a lot of time on my hands," he grumbled, as he let the book fall to the ground. "Unlike you, I can't laze around all day."

"Well, unlike you, it's not as if I really have a choice."

"Yeah, yeah, point taken." He sighed. "Wish I could be a wizard. Then I could just wave my magic wand and all my problems would turn into a toad."

"You wouldn't want to be Harry Potter. He faces a lot of crap, you know."

"Wow, now where have I heard _that_ before?"

Rukia ignored his comment and delved into a plot summary of all the books available in the series while Ichigo listened, satisfied with watching the way her lips would move, and the way her eyes would brighten – just a fraction – at a particularly interesting part of the story.

On reporting to Ichimaru and Yoruichi, this was the first day that Ichigo didn't have any constructive information to convey – he highly doubted his superiors would be too interested in the trials and tribulations of a 14-year-old fictional wizard.

* * *

A few days later, Ichigo had met with Yoruichi and Ichimaru to talk over what was to be done at a meeting, between hunters and vampires, to be held a few days from then. Yoruichi said that she had voided further meetings at the last one, but when the vampires had left the main street of Roppongi strewn with bloody hunter carcasses, she had no choice but to give in for fear of a repeat performance. The humans were already getting spooked.

And at this meeting, the vampires had requested they bring along the vampire, just to show that she was still alive and well and not brought to any harm.

That was a little bit of a problem. Even with all the aura restrictors she wore, both Yoruichi and Ichigo privately agreed that Rukia had enough power to escape should she want to, out of doors.

For this meeting, all ten of the current unit division captains were called, and in return, all eleven seats of the elder and leader division of the vampires were promised to be present. They had rented out a bar for the night – with another hunter being the barman incognito.

Rukia had seemed surprised when Ichigo told her about the meeting (and the previous ones) and the request of her presence. But he told her not to think too much of it, because of course the vampires would have assumed they'd either torture her to death or just kill her outright. She looked nonplussed at the thought.

In fact, the only reason Rukia had been surprised at all was because she was amazed that her friends even cared enough to try and get her back. Normally a caught vampire was just dismissed as dead – she had seen it so many times before, and they always ended up that way sooner or later – and there was nothing that anyone did about it. But they were holding _meetings_ with _captains_ just for _her_? Something was going on, but she just couldn't figure out _what_.

So thus the night arrived, as day slid into dusk and finally, when even the last traces of pink had faded from the sky, Ichigo came to her cell in detainment sector 13-1. With him was his complete unit, fully armed and prepared to fight should the vampire offer resistance.

He went into the cage and slipped what appeared to be another aura restrictor, this one a silver color and so strong that she physically staggered from the crushing weight of the barricade between herself and her aura. Ichigo caught her by the shoulder but did nothing else.

They could not afford to be "friends" – or even remotely courteous – in front of others.

When she had regained her feet and the moment of dizziness passed, she straightened and walked out, Ichigo's hand on her shoulder as he followed her past the thick glass walls of her cell. There was a certain tenseness to the air, and more than once a finger was tightened on a trigger as she walked past. She said nothing, looked straight ahead, and continued on.

Ichigo slipped a blindfold over her face as soon as they were out of the detainment room; all she managed to see was a long, polished white hall before the blindfold came on. He steered her through the halls using only his hand, though they were never far apart. They went up stairs, down stairs, down elevators, and finally she felt the breeze of the night on her face. They were outside the building.

A car was waiting. She could hear the low hum.

They drove for what seemed like an eternity, until Rukia was sure that they'd either gone into the next city or had driven around in a circle fifty times. Ichigo sat beside her, a comforting presence. Even though she couldn't see him and he had told her to move as little as possible, she could still fell him – his aura, maybe – and he was close enough so that their thighs were touching from sitting so close together. The warmth reminded her that she had him, at the very least, if no one else.

Finally the car seemed to slow and stop several times, and she felt the traffic bumps that could only indicate there were in a garage of sorts. Sure enough, when she got out, she could smell the oil and rubber of a parking garage, as well as hear tires squeaking around a corner and the far sound of horns in the distance.

She was led up another elevator and stood there quietly, Ichigo's hand still on her shoulder. And when a light brush of vampiric aura hit her, she knew that they were in the final room.

Gently, the blindfold was slipped off; she opened her eyes to the semi-darkness and saw silent, red-cloaked figures standing, though there were comfy couches and chairs all about the meeting room – it _was_ a bar for the human society's most prestigious, after all.

Urahara was the first to lower his hood, and then the rest followed suit. She recognized all nine of the holders of seats in the elder and leader division, plus Urahara, who held the main seat.

Yoruichi frowned and spoke. "There are only ten of you."

Hands on guns, flamethrowers, and automatic bows tightened.

"Of course," Urahara said, in his deceptively calm voice. "You hold the eleventh there, right next to your side."

Yoruichi gave her a glance, as did Ichigo – more surprise was visible in his – because over all the time he had known her, they'd never spoken of her rank. He was probably amazed she was so high up. Most people – vampires – were, when they met her for the first time.

Now that hoods were coming down in the sign of trust, Rukia could recognize all of the people she knew that had come to the meeting. There was Renji, and Ukitake, and Kenpachi, and Byakuya, and Hinamori, and…Hitsugaya!

"Hitsugaya…" she whispered, glad at seeing him so alive and well. The last image she'd ever had of him was his broken and battered body, speared through by a hunter, and all this time she hadn't known whether he had lived or not. Seeing him so alive and well brought a peace to her that she ordinarily wouldn't have thought mattered.

And he smiled at her, the infamous smile of his that was always almost a smirk. "Hey, Rukia-chan."

This really wasn't the time or place to correct him again about the suffix. She just smiled, with a hint of sadness, and lowered her face.

And Hitsugaya surprised everyone when he came forward, heedless of the sudden very obvious guns pointed in his direction, and stopped right in front of her. It struck her then that their robes were identical. She had never changed.

Most surprisingly of all, Hitsugaya gave her a hug.

He gave her a big bear hug, and all she could do there was stand stock-still and wonder about whatever demon had possessed him. All in all it was a quick embrace , but not quick enough for her to miss the whispered words that caught her ear:

"_We're going to save you, Rukia-chan_."

* * *

**tsuzuku**


	9. Truce? Or Bluff?

This fic is rated R because of language, violence, and sensuality. If any of the aforementioned offends you, please do not read.

Review if you like. No flames, please.

* * *

**kaerichi  
**Chapter 9

* * *

Rukia couldn't say anything after his words had passed; she couldn't do anything for fear the hunters would hear. And yet…there was an emotion caught in her throat that she couldn't quite find words to express.

For when Hitsugaya had said _"We're going to save you, Rukia-chan,"_ her first thought had not been _Finally, about time!_ or _I wonder what brought all this on?_ or even _This is going to be one hell of a bloody mess._

The first thing that popped into her mind was: _What about Ichigo?_

And she felt like screaming at herself if she'd been able. So WHAT about Ichigo? Did she give a fucking _damn_ about him? NO! So why the hell was she thinking of him when she should be rejoicing, thinking that the vampires – her friends – were about to take her away at last?

Ichigo's hand had tightened exponentially on her shoulder when Hitsugaya had given her the hug; perhaps he thought she might break away, but her legs had suddenly turned to lead. She couldn't fly or run properly if she tried.

The meeting commenced.

"Good evening, Shihouin-san," Urahara began to say, "I knew you had not counted on another meeting…well, quite so soon, shall we say…but I am at the assumption you saw my rather wild friend's handiwork, of which he was very gratified." His hand indicated Kenpachi, and Rukia was not surprised in the least that it had been him to carry out the slaughter. In the heat of battle, he was an unstoppable monster – but a strong monster, granting him the third-seat chair of the leader division.

"Yes, I did see it. I thank you for making our hunters' deaths…fairly instant."

"Ah yes, there's much one can do with blood with a slashed throat." Urahara seemed to reminisce for a second or two before snapping down to business. "All right! Now then, onto the purpose of this third – and be assured, final – meeting."

Ichigo, at her side, was silent…but was he sweating?

She could hear his breaths since he was so close to her, and they were harder than usual – almost panting. His breaths were harder than that first night he had chased her down twenty city blocks, and that was saying something.

"This meeting…" Urahara said, with a glint in his eye, "is to tell you that we will have Kuchiki Rukia back at any cost, even if it should resort to playing with an extra ace in the sleeve, shall we say. I know you, Shihouin Yoruichi, and you would not give Kuchiki-san up even should I bomb the entire of the hunter's main headquarters."

He paused. There was something hard and determined in his eye, but all the same, Rukia thought it looked regretful. "Attack."

With the grace of moving shadows, all of the vampires at once attacked the group of captains. The captains had the advantage of their weapons, but some were sweating heavily and others were having trouble breathing. And suddenly Rukia wasn't so sure if there was nothing in the air, after all.

A few gun rounds and flamethrowers went off, and in an instant it had caught a bottle of vodka and set the wooden bar aflame. Much of the liquor cabinet had shattered. Suddenly, there was thick, dark smoke in the air, and Rukia stopped breathing and felt all right – such could not be said by the humans in the room. Some were still shooting wildly.

It was so reminiscent of the night she had been captured – some of the humans were screaming and she could hear the wet squelch of blood forced out of the body.

But her eyes were no humans'. She could see well enough in the smoke to see that the vampires were still attacking the hunters, taking advantage of the fact that the smoke wasn't affecting them as much. If anything, it was only the heat that would be their downfall, but it hadn't gotten hot enough yet to make much of a difference in the power factor.

A bloody, flaming body stumbled past her, screaming, and Rukia dodged while trying to keep the bile down in her throat. The door opened; she had the impression that the hunters were stumbling out, forgetting all about her.

"Rukia…! Rukia…!"

She turned her head slightly. There was someone calling out to her through the smoke. And that person didn't stop.

Ichigo.

Then suddenly she saw him, as he tumbled through the smoke and trying to clear his burning eyes, calling out for her and searching through the smoke vainly. He was so far away from the only door, and he was already probably half-blind from all the smoke...

And then, on the opposite side, she saw the balcony door and the night beyond, as clear as if she had been standing _right there _, right on that balcony . The breeze was already on her face ; she could taste the freedom as unmistakably as if she were already gone…

There were her friends silhouetted against the night, breaking through the glass balcony doors. The flame that divided them was nothing; she could easily fly over. "Come on! Rukia!" they called out to her. Renji had already extended his hand, and Hitsugaya was hovering at the threshold, black wings spread to embrace the wind.

Perhaps Renji saw the sudden pause in her eyes and got scared, for he suddenly thrust his hand at her again, violently, and all but commanded, "Come on, Rukia! Come _here_! Let's go! We have to get out of here!"

And then before she could reply, or even think, there was a hand on her shoulder that came down so hard that she nearly became unbalanced. Her head whipped to the side.

"Ru – Rukia…" her orange-haired hunter rasped, coughing, "come on, we have to get out of here…!"

"Ichigo!" she said worriedly, turning to him as he let out a series of violent coughs. "Ichigo, don't breathe! You'll only breathe in more carbon dioxide!"

Her hands gripped his shoulders as he almost sank to the ground. She was looking at the top of his orange head, and feeling the coughs wrack his body; her head flew over to Renji and Hitsugaya, still waiting for her. But she could see the disbelief in their eyes, as evident as the flames that were closing in around her ankles.

"Rukia, come on!" Renji yelled, snapping his hand at her again, though the flames were nearly lapping at the skin. It was now so hot that she could feel her own sweat burning. "Come on, Rukia! Dump him! Come _ON_!"

But Rukia just stared at him with despair in her eyes, clutching Ichigo closer to her, and she shook her head desperately at him just a second before the wall of flames licked the ceiling and grew into a thick barrier.

"Ichigo! Ichigo!" she shook him to see if he was still conscious. "Ichigo!"

"Rukia…" he rasped. He coughed. "Rukia…"

"Don't breathe!"

"Idiot…then I'd _really_ die…"

Ichigo may have been an extraordinary hunter, but he was still just a human and needed to breathe. The smoke was so thick that she could only see his face in front of hers…all the rest was lost. There were flames all around, burning the chairs, floors, walls, and greedily following the rivers of liquor that had spilt from the cabinet.

Ichigo coughed.

"Ichigo!"

There was no helping it. Rukia placed her mouth to his.

Ichigo was so out of it that he didn't even try fighting back – at first – but then his eyes widened a fraction before he realized she was breathing into his mouth.

She had stopped breathing long ago, but there had still been oxygen in her. There was no time to be surprised by the action – if they didn't get out soon, they'd both die!

Pulling her mouth away, Rukia put Ichigo's arm around her neck and tried lifting him. From the little oxygen that she had provided, he was able to stand a little without falling. Rukia ran through the fire, through the balcony. Renji and the others were gone, as she suspected they would be – fire was just as dangerous to vampires as humans.

They rushed over broken glass, heard the crunch of it underfoot, and then were out on the small balcony, where Rukia spread her wings and jumped off the balcony. The air cleared even her head instantly – not because of the smoke inhalation, but mostly because she had felt hemmed in by all the smoke.

The wind rushed past her ears. She was not flying – she was too heavy for that, without having had any momentum – but at least she could flap her wings anxiously to try and slow their descent eighteen stories to the ground.

Thankfully, it was late at night, and there were very little humans around…almost none, actually. Rukia felt her feet touch the ground at the same time Ichigo let out another cough. She had just let his arm fall from her neck when she was jumped from out of nowhere and put in a chokehold. There was no reason to really warrant it. The three blue bands and one silver still kept her aura so totally divided from her that she just couldn't reach it.

A swarm of other hunters surrounded Ichigo and helped him to stand, but Rukia was still in a chokehold and someone had pinned her beautiful wings back, cruelly clenching the arch until the bone fractured. Apparently, her small cry of pain reached Ichigo's ears, for the next thing she knew, the hunters surrounding her had been beaten back and Ichigo was standing next to her…one arm gently around her shoulder, the gesture obviously protective.

"I hope you realize that this vampire saved my fuckin' _life_," he spat at them, hot, raw anger making his words sharp and callous. "I was up there in the room, surrounded by smoke, and she could have gone and escaped and left me there to die but she _didn't_! _She_ helped me escape from that building, which _none of the rest of you_ did! If it wasn't for her I'd be on my fuckin' funeral pyre by now!" His voice echoed down the deserted street, but no one stopped him in his rage. "So I'd think for you to at least treat her with a little more _fucking_ courtesy and the respect she deserves!"

He broke off then, breaths coming hard, and then started coughing again. Rukia just watched him and tried to support his weight. She didn't know what to say, or if it was even safe to say anything at all.

Yoruichi had managed to get out alive, coming forward with an oxygen mask for Ichigo and giving her a strange look. Rukia didn't like it. It was too…calculating.

"So the vampires betrayed the truce…" she said softly, never diverting her eyes from Rukia's. "They call us out to the meeting first, and we come willingly, but they choose to stage an attack that catches us completely off guard…who would expect an attack on neutral ground?"

_Don't look at me like that. It's not as if I knew what was coming, either._

"And five of my unit division captains are dead from the attack…" she said, looking away to the remaining. "And how many vampires lost?"

_Probably none._

"Probably none," Yoruichi said, in an eerie echo of Rukia's previous thought. She seemed to be thinking before shaking her head. "Ishida, Tousen! Rush Kurosaki-san back to the base. I think he'll be all right with a little more oxygen, but I'd like to have him examined more thoroughly back at the medical ward, and I don't want him going to a hospital. Is that clear?"

They nodded, and Ishida came forward to take Ichigo's arm off of Rukia's shoulders of support.

Yoruichi turned to the man next to her, flashily dressed with a large flower-print kimono loosely over his casual dress shirt and pants. "Kyouraku. I'm putting you in charge of damage control here. I don't care about the bar. Talk to the owner in the morning and pay whatever reasonable price he asks for. Find if any other humans were around and take care of them."

He nodded. The man's usual joviality was gone from the seriousness in his face. As the first captain, he was second only to Yoruichi and Ichimaru, and so he would be a good choice in leading the cleanup effort.

"And Ichimaru and I will personally be returning the vampire to base before we return to assist you," Yoruichi added . She didn't even give Rukia a chance to comprehend the information before she tugged sharply on her arm and walked off in the direction of a white van.

Ichimaru was already inside and Rukia guessed that Yoruichi was to be driving, but the same blindfold was slipped over her again and her neck was loosely tied to the headrest, so she couldn't move much.

They didn't even play the radio. For almost two hours they just sat in silence, listening to the car's hum and the start of early morning traffic.

Then she was hustled out of the car, into a building, up and down elevators and stairs and all manner of things that Rukia was sure was just being done to confuse her sense of direction. The blindfold only came off when she found her face-to-face with her cell in detainment sector 13-1. Ichimaru pushed her inside and shut the door.

"Now, you just stay there like a good little vampire," he said, grinning at her. "I don't know about Kurosaki-kun's condition yet, but rest assured, he'll probably live. Not that a vampire like yourself would care too much about a hunter, eh?" He laughed, and she hated him.

But there was nothing else to do. Her mind was too keyed up to read. So she just stood there for hours, placing her hands against the smooth glass and resting her forehead on it. It was cool. Eventually it warmed up against her skin. She was getting slightly cold again but didn't really care too much about it or the fact that she'd need to eat soon…she wondered how Ichigo was doing.

She remembered the smoke, the flames, the sheer heat as it surrounded her like a fortress with no means out. Renji's face came to her clearly in the moments before the flames had obscured it. It was in a state of disbelief, urging, hoping – maybe even begging – that she would come to her senses and leave the hunter behind.

She had really tried. Really.

But she thought of leaving Ichigo behind, deep in the fiery room while it burned his skin to a crisp, his corpse becoming just the shell of the man he'd once been. And Rukia found that she just couldn't do it. At that, she had brought him closer to her without thinking, shook her head at Renji without thinking…how many people had she managed to hurt tonight? All because of her…

Closing her eyes, Rukia might have then slipped into something resembling sleep – it was a deeply contemplative state of mind. Time could pass both in an eternity and in the blink of an eye when she slipped that mode. And because so, she did not know how much time had passed when she heard the shuffle of approaching footsteps.

"…Rukia?"

She lifted her face . "Ichigo!"

He didn't look too much worse for the wear – there was a bandage around his wrist and a band-aid around his finger, but that was it. The only evidence that remained of the fire was the charred edges of his coat.

"Ichigo, you're okay? You didn't get hurt in the fire?"

"No. But I had to be put on pure oxygen for about an hour because all the smoke inhalation was life-threatening." He had an unusual expression on his face, rather gentle, somewhat chagrined. He approached the cell a little more. "Anyway, I can't stay long. Five captains were killed – almost six, if you include me – and so we've got to get captain trials underway so the positions can be filled as soon as possible." His eyes hardened. "That's vampires for you."

Rukia's eyes were sad. It was true.

"But…that's fine. Not all of them are like that, I know. Just like not all hunters are so noble as we like to believe."

And suddenly he was smiling at her and she found herself smiling back, small as it was, but a smile nonetheless.

"Anyway, I…I came in here to…" he shifted weight a bit, eyes on the floor. His hands were inside of his charred coat pockets. "I just wanted to say, that for saving me tonight…" he trailed off, trying to find the words.

"You don't have to say it," she said.

"Why not?"

"Because you're a hunter. I'm a vampire. You don't say those things."

"I don't care about that anymore," he said forcefully, and her eyes widened, though he didn't see it because his eyes were off to the side. "I just wanted to say…thank you."

She stared at him. Her hands were cool against the glass.

"I know I would've died in there tonight if you hadn't helped me, and even if everyone else is acting like I'm the big hero who caught the vampire while she tried to escape, I know what really happened. And I really want to live." His eyes finally caught hers. "I want to be with my family, I want to continue training, and I want to face all of my life the best I can. That would've all gone up in smoke – no pun intended – if I'd died tonight.

"So before anyone else can tell you what they think my opinion of you is, I just want to tell you myself, Rukia…thank you."

She smiled, and closed her eyes. "You're welcome, Ichigo."

He accepted the answer.

"Well, I should go now…I have to attend the first trial meetings, you know, won't be allowed to sleep until it's all through," he said lightly. She waved to show she understood.

"Bye," she said.

"See you tomorrow."

And that left her with a greater sense of peace than she had ever felt…ever.

* * *

"I can't believe her! I can't fucking _believe_ her!" Renji yelled loud enough to wake the undead, stomping around Hitsugaya's apartment while he sat placidly on the bed. "We spent so much time trying to get the rescue plan perfect, and what does that bitch do? She stays with the fucking hunter!"

"Look, Abarai, what happened already happened. We can't change what Rukia did. And besides, the meeting wasn't a total loss," Hitsugaya replied. Hinamori came in from the kitchen with a pot of tea and five teacups.

"Wasn't it?"

"Nope," Urahara said, as he stood against the glass doors of the balcony. The sun was almost rising, and against the background of light, his form was darkened into nothing more than black shadow. "I know we killed at least four hunter captains. I got one, Byakuya-san got one, and Zaraki-san got two."

"Overexcited bastard," Renji muttered, but Urahara continued on.

"And also…"

Renji blinked.

Urahara turned his gaze from the sunrise and held up a small, rectangular white walkie-talkie with a blinking light that went off in the most bizarre shades of red to blue to green to orange.

"Recognize one of these, Abarai-kun?"

* * *

**tsuzuku**


	10. Rukia's Memories

AN: Personally, I have nothing against Kaien, but I wanted an unconventional bad guy to play a role here, so anyway yeah :-) hehe

Relevant notes: the suffix "-dono" is about the highest form of respect possible to a single person, because it derives from the word "tono" which means "lord."

This fic is rated R because of language, violence, and sensuality. If any of the aforementioned offends you, please do not read.

WARNING: THERE IS SEMI-GRAPHIC VIOLENCE, ABUSE, SEX, AND COARSE LANGUAGE IN THIS CHAPTER. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.

Review if you like. No flames, please.

* * *

**kaerichi  
**Chapter 10

* * *

Ever since that night with the fire, Rukia had found it hard to hold down the memories that surfaced every so now and then. It was like ripples – drop a pebble in a lake, so small the pebble could be, but the ripples that spread would soon become more and more and more until it was nearly overwhelming.

She blamed it on the fire. It was something that she so rarely had encountered in her life that the one time she did, it brought up all sorts of unpleasant memories that she would have been better without.

Sitting on the ground, she absently thumbed through a new book that Ichigo had brought her. He hadn't even had time to talk to her yesterday. All he'd done was drop the books off and apologize with a "Sorry, but the trials are getting complicated because of under-qualified people applying, and Shihouin was thinking of making them harder to pass so that they'll stop getting offed so quickly…so anyway, you probably don't get any of this, but I might not see you at all today." He looked genuinely chagrined at the thought.

There was nothing to be done about it.

_"What do you mean, nothing can be done? Anything that's a fuckin' problem always has a solution. It doesn't matter who has to give or what has to be given; everything has a solution. Don't just sit there like a useless bitch!"_

Rukia nearly jumped up. The voice was so strong in her mind. It was hard to imagine that the speaker hadn't been sitting right across from her, instead of the line playing across her mind like a bad film.

She tried relaxing against the wall, but no; the words had made her jumpy and disinclined to sit still. So she got up and began pacing around her small circular cage like a lion on display at the zoo. After she'd walked around for what must have been at least fifty times, Rukia stopped. Suddenly she was angry with herself.

_When was the last time I let that fuckbag's words affect me?_ she thought, angrily pushing a lock of hair back. _I pushed him out of my mind all this time, and after just a little fire the memories think they can return? I don't _think _so._

And so, to purposely prove to herself that she was not quailing to these new memories, Rukia sat down with a huff and tried to relax. And it worked, somewhat. As she leaned against the side and closed her eyes, not really intending to sleep, somehow it found her anyway and carried her off into dreams.

The first dream was pleasant, obscure, and safe. That was all she knew, but Rukia liked safe dreams to all others.

The second dream was about the fire.

It was about the fire and she was there, surrounded by the flames again, though the temperature was merely warm. And suddenly it was parting, a dark figure was walking through...she thought she recognized that hair and called out hopefully, "Ichigo?"

But her blood turned to ice.

Kaien walked through the flame, laughing, mocking her. "…hah, what's this? Forgotten your master's name already?"

"No...no..." she said, backing away. But as it always does in dreams, he seemed to approach two steps for every one of hers she took in the opposite direction, gliding along the flaming floor. "No...you're _DEAD_!"

"Am I?" the form said. Hands spread out to his sides. "I look okay to me."

She tripped over something, falling back on her butt as she still tried to back away from him as he drew ever closer. He came so close, until he was right by her and had kneeled down in front of her. His hand came out to hold her face. His fingers were icy cold.

"Hey, Rukia-chan…" he whispered, and she shuddered, "you can't have really forgotten me, can you? Have you forgotten what you owe me? Have you forgotten that I am still, and will always be, your only master?"

"Get away from me!" she shouted, twisting her head away. "You aren't my master any longer! I killed you! Get away from me you sick, twisted fucking bastard! I don't owe you a goddamn fucking thing!"

"Oh...really, Rukia-chan? Pity..." the apparition said, and he took her face again and turned it to his, and he was just centimeters away, as though he was going to kiss her…and smother her and make her bleed...

The memories...oh god, the _memories_...

Rukia must have been more awake than asleep by then, if she could acutely recall all the memories that suddenly flashed into her conscious, the ones that she hadn't been aware had still been there. They had been pushed back so long that she'd never taken inventory.

_"Come on, bitch! You don't think I turned you just so you could stand there, did you? You're a fucking vampire now! The night is ours! Spread your damn wings or I'll break them!"_

She hadn't wanted to jump off that building, and he'd known it…

_He laughed, pinning her against the sheets while she struggled. "Oh yeah...and I turned you for some...other things as well," he laughed again, and her insides froze; it was so cruel and self-satisfied that she felt sick from her loathing._

That had been the beginning...

_"Come on, beg me!" he said, laughing hysterically at her face._

She didn't want it...never wanted it...

_"Oh, dear Rukia-chan, your expression is the sweetest thing I've ever seen," she heard him say, but she doubted she'd be able to see much through the tears that were falling like rain from her eyes. "It is so utterly...delectable." And he touched her again she just kept crying, for there was nothing else she _could _do._

No, no, no...

_She would just lie there as night after night after night he would come, sometimes gentle, sometimes abusive, but most times simply dominating, taking her body with effortless ease. The red-hot strip of pain that shot up with his every movement was enough to make her lie still and wait it out, feeling the slippery sheen of sweat and the crushing weight of his body._

She was – had been – nothing.

_He would come and do anything he pleased, for he was her master and the one who had turned her, and she could do nothing._

_"Rukia-chan…" he whispered, as his hand slid up her back, his lips at hers, pressing with such an intensity that he cut her lip, "Rukia-chan…my darling Rukia-chan…to whom I am your only master…call me 'Kaien-dono.' Come on, bitch, say it." And she would reply, because she was weak, and was afraid._

_"That's right, Rukia-chan, Kaien-dono…Rukia-chan…Rukia-cha…Rukia…_Rukia…Rukia!"

Her eyes flew open.

_No! Kaien-dono!_

"_Please don't touch me, Kaien-dono_!" she cried, striking him across the face and sending him flying into the glass a few feet away. The fear was so real that she truly did believe it was him in the cell with her; she huddled in her robe as far away from him as possible and hid her face in her hands. She couldn't face her memories, not again!

She was still so weak. She had to be. She still dreamt of him, still – yes, she knew it now – still _feared_ him, even after he had died so long ago and she had killed him with her bare hands. He'd been her first kill, ever.

_Kaien…that fucking bastard Kaien…_ she thought, as she felt the unbidden tears come to her eyes. _Even in death he won't leave me alone…_

"Rukia!"

She heard the voice.

_Ichigo?_

"Rukia! What's the matter? Are you hurt? Are you okay? Rukia!"

It had been Ichigo. Too blind from fear, she had struck at the one person who physically resembled Kaien the most. She shook her head, not looking up from where she had her face buried in her robe sleeves, because they were covering her hands.

She was trembling, and crying, and a mess, like so long ago…all because of _him_.

* * *

Ichigo had felt something amiss in his stomach the moment he'd stepped into the room. And maybe he was just being paranoid, but all that day he'd been feeling as if something was wrong – like the way one would feel when they knew they had to remember to do something but couldn't remember what it was.

"Rukia?" he called out as soon as the door opened.

He saw her. She appeared to be sleeping, but Ichigo noticed that it seemed far from peaceful – her face was twisted in what seemed fear or panic, she was twisting from side to side, and every so often a noise that sounded desperately like a whimper would escape.

"No…no…" she was saying. "Please…Ka – Kai…"

_Kai? Who's Kai?_

"No…no…" she kept saying, causing Ichigo to notice that she was becoming more and more agitated, trying to escape something only in her dreams. "No please, don't…"

Whatever she was dreaming about, it sounded pretty bad, if Rukia herself would have to resort to begging. He undid the control panels that locked the door and climbed in. Rukia twisted from side to side, and now he was really getting worried: he spotted two tears streaking down the side of her face like liquid silver, curving the line of her cheek.

"Rukia! Oi, Rukia! Wake up! Rukia! Rukia!"

He grabbed her shoulder and shook it, but she might have been a mannequin for all the good that it did. Now he was getting worried. "Rukia! Rukia! Wake up, Rukia! It isn't real! Rukia! Rukia!"

And then her beautiful eyes snapped open to his, and in that one millisecond, something so close to terror dawned on her face that his breath caught from the shock. And then before he could even react, she had struck him across the face. The blow was hard and he reeled.

He sat up slowly, trying to ease the pounding of his head that had been caused when he struck the glass cell wall. And then suddenly, he saw that he was not the one hurting; Rukia was huddled against the far wall and looked so pitiful that his heart went out to her.

Suddenly he remembered what she'd said.

_"Please don't touch me, Kaien-dono!"_

Kaien-_dono_? Why would she add the respectful title to someone's name, someone who Rukia obviously had not wanted to _touch_ her…? His mouth twisted as sheer, livid fury darkened his countenance, the meaning becoming clear.

But he pushed it down. She did not need more fear.

"Rukia?"

She didn't respond, and he wondered if she even heard him.

"Rukia? What's the matter? Are you hurt? Are you okay? Rukia!" He approached, and wondered if he should touch her. She might hit him again.

But then he kept watching her, and knew that she needed to be reassured more than anything. He put out his hand and laid it calmly on her back, stroking in long, sweeping lines, and before he knew it both hands were helping Rukia to turn to him, embracing her in a hug so tight that her crying was muffled in his shirt. She did not reject him; he sat with his back to the glass as she fit so perfectly in the crook of his shoulder.

What the hell had happened?

* * *

_Too naïve to understand. That's what she'd been. And too afraid to fight back._

At first.

And then Rukia learned the power of her aura, the power of her mind, and most of all, that was not just his little personal fuck toy that Kaien could call with a beckon of his finger. She had a mind of her own, and damn it she wasn't going to let it rot away to waste.

But the comfort of Ichigo's touch and nearness was soothing as she relaxed in his embrace, easing away at her keyed nerves.

Her tears slowed, but she didn't want to move…because it had been so long since anyone had made her feel so protected as Ichigo did in that one moment…

He let her quiet.

"Hey…Rukia…?"

She said nothing, but her head moved slightly.

"You okay?"

A barely imperceptible nod was all the answer he received.

"If I…if it's not…" Ichigo paused, wondering what he was trying to say, "if it's okay, tell me…who's Kai? I heard you...you were talking in your sleep."

Rukia was silent for so long that he was beginning to think that she wasn't going to answer his question. He let a minute slide by, and had opened his mouth to speak before Rukia said softly, "…Kaien."

"Kaien?"

"Not Kai, Kaien."

"Kaien. Who's he?"

Ichigo could sense immediately that it was a touchy subject when she failed to answer him directly, and let the pause steep into still silence. But finally, with her head still against his chest, Rukia whispered, "He was the vampire who…turned me."

"Turned you into a vampire?"

"Yes."

"Does he hurt you? You looked like you were having a nightmare."

"He used to."

"_Used_ to?"

"He died."

"Died?"

"I killed him."

"You did?" Ichigo looked at her with some surprise. Somehow, he could never imagine her killing. She had never demonstrated anything even remotely close to the bloodlust he'd seen in other vampires. "How? And…why?"

"…because I _hated_ him." He looked down again, and noticed that Rukia, in the circle of his arms, was suddenly trying to blink back more tears from her eyes. "I hated him so much," she whispered. "When the chance came to kill him, I did it. He was the first person I'd ever killed. I hated him so much…I hated him _so much_…"

They were quiet.

"Did he ever…touch you?" Ichigo asked, in a voice as quiet as hers. Maybe he should not have asked that question, but it was killing him inside to think that someone had ever laid a hand on Rukia against her will. Sexually, and perhaps abusively.

This time, he expected the silence that followed.

"Yes…he did."

Ichigo drew her closer, tighter.

"…I'm sorry."

"…he would always come," she said. "No matter what I said or did, he would always come when he wanted, and I…it wasn't until that day…that day I killed him, it was the first time I'd ever acted out. Before then, I was too…" She trailed off, but Ichigo thought he could fill the gap.

"Scared?"

"Yes."

"Powerless?"

"Yes."

"…weak?"

"Yes."

"…alone?"

"…that too."

"…but, you ended up killing him after all. And you are of leader status. So you must be powerful."

"I…Kaien was the original first-seat representative of Japan, of the leader division. But there's a tradition in vampire society, that when someone of the leader division is killed or defeated in a battle challenge, the victor is entitled to take their place."

"Ah, I see…that's so the leader division is of only the strongest."

"Yes…I killed him in his house, and it…caught fire…that was because Kaien liked human liquor, and we fought in his house, and he was going to kill me…I dodged the blow. And then…"

_"Hey girl, Rukia-chan…" Kaien hissed, as he came closer, with their fire a distance away. She was already bleeding from the force of his aura cutting at hers, that and having been cut by numerous shards of shattered glass, but she hardly noticed the wounds._

_"You thought you could kill me? I don't think so. I'm the most powerful vampire in Japan; you don't understand a fucking thing about power."_

_"You aren't the most powerful, Yamamoto Genryuusai-san is!" she shouted back at him, adrenaline burning foolish courage into her heart. "You're just a fake! Yamamoto-san could kick your ass any day, and you know it!"_

_"Why you…" And he was about to complete his sentence, a rafter of his house fell through, but he didn't notice and dashed forward with his superhuman speed. His hand was aimed at her heart, prepared to pierce through her chest…_

_But she moved, faster than she ever had in her life, and dodged his shot; she blindly thrust her hand at his heart. And something warm, wet, enveloped her hand…it was then she realized that Kaien was slumping on her. All she felt was the sudden shock. She had actually managed to pierce his chest, through his heart. And in that moment she knew he would die. No vampire could heal fast enough to repair a stabbed heart._

_She backed away, partly horrified and partly exulted at her victory, looking at her hand coated with blood to the elbow…_

_"Rukia-chan..." He was on the ground , bleeding , face up to hers... "hey, wait…don't leave…you owe me, save me, Rukia-chan…you know you don't want…me to die…Rukia-chan…"_

_Sickened at his words, her feet turned slowly, and her wings spread slowly, but she ran out of that burning house and escaped her tormentor forever. It all happened so quickly that there wasn't even time for regret._

_And mercifully, no time to cry._

"…and then, I killed him. As simple as that."

Ichigo said nothing in return, just held her closer, as close as he could without the embrace becoming painful.

* * *

"Well, Kurosaki-kun? What is your report? Have you learned anything new from the vampire?"

Ichimaru leaned forward as he clasped his hands together, in a gesture that resembled a prayer but was probably the farthest from it. At that angle, the light cast a shadow over him, making his pale, long face even more eerie. Yoruichi sat off to the side, silent as she always was, because Ichimaru said everything for the two of them.

Ichigo swallowed, though not in nervousness.

His mouth opened.

"…no, Ichimaru-san. Nothing."

His hand clenched, though no one could see that.

"…I have learned nothing new at all."

* * *

**tsuzuku**


	11. A Helpful Word

Edit: oh, yes, Fruit Punch, I had noticed that during proofing, but 1) when I wrote it, I was thinking of a "spell" as being more of, say, the spell of a woman, not a "spell" like a magical enchantment; and 2) I was much too lazy to change it ;-p

It was in my opinion that Ishida's eyes were green. I don't know how I got this perception of him, since I can see in the anime they made them the same color as Rukia's. But this is just how I see him, and refer to him as such.

"hime-sama" is the way you generally refer to a princess. Orihime's name is important, because the latter "-hime" could translate the name into Princess Ori…hence why Chizuru, in the anime, calls her "hime" in the first place (as a term of endearment).

This fic is rated R because of language, violence, and sensuality. If any of the aforementioned offends you, please do not read.

Review if you like. No flames, please.

* * *

**kaerichi****  
**Chapter 11

* * *

"Well, don't you look like shit."

Ichigo didn't even spare the speaker a glance. He was too tired.

"Hot date? No STD, I hope."

"Shut up…" Ichigo said half-heartedly. "I really don't need this right now."

He only looked up when a glass thunked in front of him, and even then had to focus to realize it was full of an amber liquid, half-filled with ice, and slightly sloshing over the edge of the glass.

"Johnnie Walker," the dark-haired man said, sipping from his own glass.

"The fuck is that?"

"Brand of scotch. On the rocks." He edged the glass toward Ichigo slightly.

"Damn you, Ishida, I'm not even of age."

"Go on, you need it."

"Yeah, I guess I do…" Ichigo said tiredly as he reached for the glass. He downed a quarter of it in one gulp, feeling that familiar burning sensation rise pleasantly. "Thanks."

"Always ready to help the friend in need."

"Heh…don't be so sarcastic."

"Who said I was?"

"I know you too well, is all."

The two drank in companionable silence, hearing the weak sound of the TV in the background, the dim lights overhead providing a rather fitting scene to match the mood floating in the air. There was currently no one else in the hunter's den, and only Ichigo was sitting at the bar. All other hunters were most likely sleeping or training.

Ichigo got the feeling Ishida was waiting for him to say something. The dark-haired man was never the type to come right out and say things when he was in an entertaining mood; rather, he would play little mind games like the one Ichigo was sure he was currently in.

"What do you want, Ishida?"

The man shrugged. "Friendly company would be nice; I've been alone all morning."

"Why aren't you with Inoue?"

"She's overworked and tired."

"Why aren't you training?"

"Don't need it." He took another sip of his drink, looking supremely indifferent.

"Should I even mention captain's duties?"

"Even captains are allotted time for sleep. I just happen to be extending my time of wakefulness," Ishida said as he finished the last of his drink, setting the glass down next to Ichigo's half-full one. However, the orange-haired captain quickly followed suit, draining his glass in the next gulp and wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.

"Ishida, what do you want?"

"You seem so intent on believing I want something from you," he said, a glimmer of amusement in his eyes. "Why is that? I rarely ever talk to you any more. Don't you think I expect nothing of you except just your friendship?"

"No. And can the bullshit."

Ishida laughed slightly then. The movement of his head caught the overhead light on his square spectacles, and for a moment his eyes were hidden from sight. "You really are so amusing when you suffer from insomnia, Kurosaki Ichigo-kun."

"Don't call me that, Ishida-_chan_."

"I'm just making a statement," he shrugged his shoulders. "Any particular reason why you look like someone just ran over you and back?"

Rukia flashed before his eyes then, and his eyes pulled down. The memory from the evening that had just conspired was as fresh as ever, and he'd found it hard to shake her face from his mind, especially in the deep, encircling solitude of his room.

Ishida saw that, he knew. And that brilliant mind of his was probably already working away at possible conclusions.

"Someone break your heart?"

The question was so absurd that Ichigo laughed.

"Or maybe," Ishida paused, eyes suddenly narrowed, "you're just uncertain what to do or how to act in the face of a possible situation."

That was so astute that Ichigo shot him a glance. And he cursed himself just as quickly, for now Ishida would know the truth, and would not be waylaid.

"Ah…so it was the latter."

"Maybe it isn't."

"No, I know you know I saw your little head movement there. And besides, if someone didn't break your heart – unlikely, as you are dating a non-existent girlfriend – then the second most obvious choice would have been the latter of what I said, and to which you responded to." He tilted his head to the side. "It was obvious, in any case."

Ichigo said nothing. Turning back to stare at his glass, he wished it were full again.

"More drink?"

"…sure."

Another minute in silence as Ishida prepared another drink for him, and another minute as Ichigo sipped away.

"A girl, was it?"

Silence.

"Or maybe a boy?"

"A girl…" Ichigo hissed quietly.

"Something happen?"

"…yeah, something…just not sure of the cause…" Ichigo said, swaying his glass in a circle and watching the alcohol inside form a gently circular rhythm. He stopped. "In fact, I'm not even sure what the hell is going on."

"Well, obviously, if it bothers you, you must like this girl a lot," Ishida said.

Ichigo, whose drink had been halfway to his lips, froze. He set his glass back down slowly.

"Well, Kurosaki, if you're in denial, just think about it. You worry about her, you spend a sleepless night with her memory still burned into your conscious, and you know that if you went to sleep you'd probably start dreaming of her too. That's when you know you've got it bad, chump." He smirked down at Ichigo, who barely noticed.

"What? Is this supposed to be a revelation?"

Still silence from the orange-haired captain.

"Are you going to say anything?"

"…"

"You know, all this mystery is starting to remind me of the time your mother died."

Suddenly fierce brown eyes were at his. "Don't start talking about that again."

Ishida shrugged. "It's the only way to get a rise out of you sometimes."

"Shut up."

"You're too easy to read sometimes, Kurosaki," Ishida said, smirking, which darkened his pale features. He came around the bar to stand next to Ichigo. Neither looked at each other. "You think you're so complex, but I can see right through you sometimes."

"You always did talk funny."

"But you know," Ishida said, and his eyes were hidden behind his spectacles, "if you realize you're acting like when your mother died, you must place the same level of emotion on what happened then to what's happening now. And if you need some kind of epiphany, I can only point out to you that you've only been like this once before, when your mother died – and that this mystery girl, whoever she is, can get the same kind of emotion out of you. Think about it, Kurosaki."

And he made to leave.

"…bastard."

Ishida stopped, and smiled. "You too."

He went a few more steps.

"I won't thank you."

"I know." And he was almost out the door. "Do you ever?"

He smiled, and was out of sight.

* * *

Orihime was already back at her post when Ishida came up, quietly, and he thought that she didn't notice his presence. However, when she didn't start from his wrapping his arms around her from behind, he knew she'd heard him beforehand.

"Good morning, Inoue-san."

"Good morning, Ishida-kun," she said back to him. He noticed that she smiled as she did so. "Might I ask why you're smiling in such a self-satisfied way? Not too often I see you with a smirk that wide."

He just smirked again, and her face darkened slightly.

"…you didn't happen to _tell_ Kurosaki-kun, did you?"

He just kept smirking.

"_Ishida Uryuu!_"

"What?" he asked in this oh-so-innocent voice that instantly betrayed him.

"Ishida Uryuu, I _told_ you _not_ to tell!"

"Can't help, you know Kurosaki. He's so dense with things that I practically had to whack him over the head with it. As it was, I had to actually say it before the thought probably even registered."

"But _still_, Uryuu! It wasn't nice to tell him, especially when you don't know if…!"

"Look, hime-sama," Ishida said, smiling into her neck, "don't worry about it. You know Kurosaki; he's resilient, and he overcomes things in his way. Or gets even. I wouldn't be worrying so much about him just because you think he can't cope with his delicate little fluttery heart. Besides, I'd be jealous if you thought of him that much."

"Since when are you jealous?" Orihime said, though she twisted her head to the side to bring their faces closer together.

"I'm always jealous."

"You never let on."

"Of course not. As long as you don't look back."

"Hm, that little possessive streak of yours again…" she laughed. "Not that I really mind too much anyway…"

They stood in silence while Orihime just observed all the comings and goings in the building, where a wealth of security camera screens spread out in front of her like so many glass lenses to the world. As security manager, this was her job: to make sure security was in working order, and to make sure that the hunters would be safe.

"…and just what in the world possessed you to talk to Kurosaki-kun, anyway?"

"He was just being an asshole in his denial."

"You don't even know if he's in denial."

"Sure I do. He's got the face on and everything."

"What makes you so sure?"

"Why do we keep talking about him?"

"Because I care."

"I know. You always care," he grumbled lightly; and maybe she thought he was hurt, because she spun around in his arms to look then into his eyes.

"Look, Uryuu…you're not any less important to me now just because Kurosaki-kun seems to be having problems," she said, averting her eyes from his momentarily. "If I…seem too involved with him, I'm sorry. But you know me better than anyone. You know that…you know that Kurosaki-kun is one of my best friends, and I'd do anything for him. And that means being by his side when he needs help, you know?"

Ishida smiled, and brought their foreheads together. "I know, I know, hime-sama. I think you sometimes forget I've known him longer than you."

"Well, for being childhood friends, you sure don't show it."

"I do show it. Just in different ways."

_That brought him back to a moment in his past, one of those moments that Ishida had, by some miracle, remembered. Remembered and tucked away. That brought forth an image of eight-year-old Ichigo and almost-nine-year-old Uryuu, playing together, when all the world seemed like a big toy ready to be unwrapped and shining in its box._

_"Hey, Ryuu-kun, why're you so sad today?" Ichigo's big brown eyes blinked up at him, but at the time, all he'd felt was a compounding sadness. Not even the prospect of playing with his best friend made it seem any better. "Are you okay?"_

_"I'm okay, Ichigo-kun," he said. "It's just that my dad died yesterday, you know, because of his cancer, and so now the only family I have left is my grandfather. I have to go live with him now."_

_"Oh, Ryuu-kun! I'm sorry about your dad."_

_"I know. But I have to move, too."_

_"What?"_

_That was the first time he had ever discussed it with his best friend, and the news came as a shock._

_"You have to move? Where?"_

_"I don't know. To where my grandfather lives, and I don't really know where that is," Ishida said, feeling thoroughly miserable. "What if he lives in Okinawa or something? Then I'll never get to play with you again."_

_"Don't worry, Ryuu-kun! Me and you will always be friends!" Ichigo's sad face suddenly turned into a grin. "But come on! We should hurry up with the rest of the time you're going to be here. And you have to give me your address too, so that when you move I can write to you! That way, we'll still be friends!" And he grinned in such a manner that the gloom around Ishida's heart was temporarily lifted, and he trusted in his friend._

_But things happened, events were twisted, and, as it turned out, that was the last time Ishida ever saw his friend for many years to follow. Oh, Ishida didn't move that far away; maybe a hundred miles or so, but it was the thought of having left his best friend without so much as another word that hurt the most._

_And it wasn't until nine years later did they actually meet again._

"Ishida-kun?"

He shook himself out of his reverie. "It's nothing. And I told you to stop calling me that."

"I can't help it," Orihime pouted adorably, "when you're in your thinking mode I can't do or say anything to get you out of it!"

"Sorry, hime-sama…"

_Ishida hadn't seen his friend, or, indeed, even thought about him in years, but he would've known that crop of orange hair anywhere the moment he spotted it under the small, dirty light. He was here on business, but to run into his childhood friend, here of _all _places, with his arm around a whore and drinking down bottle after bottle of hard liquor…it couldn't be him, really. Not the Ichigo he knew._

_He wondered if it was safe to approach._

_"Kurosaki Ichigo?"_

_Dull eyes turned to his, but behind that Ishida could still see the awareness, the certainty that alcohol had not dimmed all of his senses. And least of all his memory._

_"Hey…" Ichigo smiled slowly, "Ishida Ryuu."_

_He brushed off the casual mention of Ichigo's childhood nickname for him, coming straight to the point. "What are you doing here?"_

_The other man stared at him for a second, and then laughed. "Fucking hell, Ishida, I see you for what, half a minute? – and you're already questioning me like a criminal. Not gonna even say hello? How are you? Nice to see you, maybe?"_

_Funny, they hadn't seen each other in years, but the teenage banter that immediately sprang up between them was casual, almost lighthearted. Still, Ishida wondered what had happened to his friend in the years that had sprung between them._

_"Want to talk somewhere private?" he said, using his eyes to sweep over the crowd Ichigo was with, a rough-looking bunch that was looking none too pleased about his interruption. The whore next to Ichigo made a noise of disapproval, but he seemed to ignore her; at least, he gave no visible reaction._

_"Yeah, sure…" Ichigo replied, just a little slurred by drink, and he released the woman at his side._

_"Hurry back soon, baby," she said, fluttering her lashes at him and biting her bottom lip in a supposedly seductive manner. Her hand made a grab at his ass. "You said we were gonna have fun tonight, right? I guess I can wait, but not too long…" she giggled._

_"Yeah, right…later…" he smiled at her slightly, but Ishida could see it was strained._

_They made their way to a quiet spot in the bar, difficult due to the loud voices and constant action surrounding the place. Ishida only glanced back once at his friend, but Ichigo was following him steadfastly, more rather than less sure in his step with each he took. Talk about some tolerance for alcohol._

_Ishida turned around. "So."_

_"So," Ichigo echoed. "What brings you to this pleasure spot?"_

_"Business. And you?"_

_"Business."_

_"Didn't look like business to me."_

_"It's my own kind."  
__  
"Oh really? Peddling around in the drug trade now?" Ishida couldn't keep the bitterness out of his voice. What a waste of such childhood innocence. "You're just lucky I feel no urge to report you."_

_"Feel free, if you really want to," Ichigo laughed, "because drugs ain't what I'm here for."_

_"Sure, tell me another." Ishida snorted disbelievingly and turned his head to the side, but Ichigo was the one staring at him now, and grinning._

_"You wouldn't even believe me if I told you I was after a vampire."_

_Suddenly Ishida's eyes shot back to his. "What did you say?"_

_"I said, you wouldn't believe me if I told you I was after a vampire, right?" Ichigo's grin widened. "Too bad for you. Because it's the truth."_

_"The truth?" Ishida weighed the words carefully. "You are after a vampire?"_

_"Yeah. You know, with the long fangs, the white skin, the ones who can turn into bats and vanish in sunlight? The ones who pierce your neck and drink your blood?" He was still smiling, and it was beginning to make him look a little crazy._

_Ishida wondered if he really was drunk, or sober and just trying to throw him off. "Are you…a hunter?"_

_"A hunter? Of what? Vampires?" Ichigo continued to grin, like this was all a big joke. Ishida was getting annoyed with it. "I never thought of myself that way, but I am hunting a vampire so I guess that makes me one. Why, are you?"  
__  
"Yes…" Ishida said quietly._

_And suddenly the joviality was gone, and suddenly Ishida realized that he'd been right all along – the big grin and drunkenness was all just a very, very clever façade. They continued to stare at each other, never blinking, and each trying to gauge the honesty of the other's words._

_"…seriously?" Ichigo asked him quietly._

_"Yes, seriously."_

_"Why do you hunt?"_

_The other's eyes closed almost ruefully, and he let out a smirk. "To make a long story short, remember my grandfather I told you about? He was a hunter through and through. Got me into the business the second I moved in with him, trained me for years, and I haven't regretted it since. Not since he was killed by some bloodsuckers eight months back." His eyes opened. "And why are you here, in this dingy and godforsaken shithole? Not to screw your whore in the bathroom, I'm sure."_

_"Che…" Ichigo smirked as well, "Like I said earlier, I'm here on business. You're making me look suspicious by calling me out and all this y'know." Suddenly he was silent, and stared at the ground; Ishida waited in silence for almost two minutes before Ichigo spoke again. "It's business that I…I can't really talk about. Maybe one day, after I do it, I'll tell you, but…I'll never tell anyone till that day." He looked up. "Not even if I die."_

_Ishida caught his eye, and then looked at the ground, nodding slightly. "I understand."_

_"Do you?" The relief was evident in Ichigo's voice, and then he smiled – almost smiled, not quite, but the nearest semblance of a real smile that Ishida could remember from when his friend was just eight years old and without a care in the world._

_"Yeah, I do."_

_They stood in silence while a fight erupted somewhere else._

_"Well, you know, once you get through with what you're after, and if you're still alive…let me know if you want to become a _real _hunter," Ishida had said, rummaging around for his business card and holding it out to the man opposite him. "One can never tell the paths our lives lay for us."_

_"You're telling me…" Ichigo muttered, contemplative for a second before taking the card. He held out his hand. "…who knows, maybe they'll cross again."_

_"Maybe." Ishida smiled at that, and shook it._

"Ishida Uryuu! Are you listening to me?"

"Hm? Oh, what? Sorry, hime."

She pouted at him, and then smiled. "Thinking about Kurosaki-kun again?"

"I never said anything of the sort."

"You didn't need to. I know that face you had on, and it was the thinking-of-my-friends-in-trouble face. Just like you have the don't-bother-me face and the overstressed-from-captain's-duties face and the daydreaming-about-your-beautiful-girlfriend-Inoue-Orihime face," she giggled a little, "and that's why I knew you were thinking of him."

Ishida just stared at her in surprise, before his face broke out in a smile. He hugged her tighter. "That just shows how well you know me."

"You think?" Orihime kissed him lightly on his nose, and then broke away. "Well, Ishida Uryuu, I'm on break right now for another hour. Want to have some coffee in my room? _Alone_?" She smirked as she stressed the last word, and Ishida thought it was about the sexiest thing he'd ever seen.

"You are going to be the death of me, woman," he shook his head, smiling. One could never tell with Inoue Orihime.

"So? Most men would love to die with me."

"No exception."

"Oh, you."

But as she took his hand and started leading him away, Ishida decided that he wouldn't worry too much about Kurosaki Ichigo. Ishida didn't need to. He already knew.

For Kurosaki Ichigo, no matter what he said or did to disprove it, no matter if the feeling was reciprocated or not, had fallen like a load of bricks for his one vampire captive…the dark-haired, lavender-eyed vampire, Kuchiki Rukia.

* * *

**tsuzuku**


	12. Breakdown

Thank you all for reviewing. I'm constantly amazed by the amount of people dissecting this story to a science...well...it's not supposed to be that serious...and all plotholes found will be laughed at! lol! For those of you who're enjoying the story (plotholes and all)...well, that makes me happy. :-) All of you reviewers out there are SUPER! Sad to say I'm falling out of Bleach mode at the moment in favor of other sudden interests (coughHarryPottercough); but never fear, it won't affect updates, because I finished this fic before the first chapter was up.

"gaki-dono" – literally, Lord Brat

This fic is rated R because of language, violence, and sensuality. If any of the aforementioned offends you, please do not read.

Review if you like. No flames, please.

* * *

**kaerichi  
**Chapter 12

* * *

The next day – or night – after Rukia's breakdown continued as if nothing out of the ordinary had ever happened. Rukia was just a little more subdued, Ichigo a little more understanding, but other than that it was a normal night. A perfectly normal night.

He came to her cell, and they talked.

"Hey."

Looking up from her book, she replied in kind. "Good evening."

"How do you know it's evening?"

"I just know," she shrugged.

Coming over to her quietly, he noticed that she still had the same book in her hands that she'd been reading the past few days. "So…that book interesting?"

"This one? I…I don't know. I haven't really been reading it."

Ichigo opened his mouth to speak, then closed it. "Rukia…" Almost automatically, his hand came up to touch hers, in a gesture of comfort. Apparently she hadn't noticed it, for as soon as his skin touched hers, she flinched like it had been an electrical shock. And then she had to tear her eyes away from his. However, he saw what she hadn't wanted him to see.

Fear. Of him.

"Rukia, what…?"

"It's nothing," she said. "Nothing."

At this close up, he could see what that nightmare had done to her and her state of mind. Now, she looked tired again, like she had been when she first came, and there was no lively spark to her eye. It was just a blank violet. In addition, her eyes never met his, not any one time when they were supposed to.

It kind of reminded him of Orihime, the talk he'd had with her just before coming down to sector 13-1…

_"Inoue?"_

_"Aa…Kurosaki-kun…" Orihime fidgeted with her hands, an action Ichigo found very strange (as it was most unprofessional of someone of her position). In addition, her eyes were on the ground, never meeting his like they normally would have in general talking._

_"Inoue, is something wrong?"_

_"No…well, that is…you see…I'm the security manager, and…"_

_"I know that."_

_"And you know…we have cameras set up all over the place, right…?" She was playing with her fingers, and Ichigo noticed, to some surprise, that she was blushing. "We have cameras in almost every room, like…the kitchen, the Training grounds…in our…detainment sectors…" She trailed off, and then her eyes timidly came up to meet his. "You know…"_

_"Inoue, what has this…oh." Suddenly it all made sense to him. Cameras in every room, especially on his vampire…his embrace of her yesterday…her crying into his shoulder…_

_"That…that was…" Ichigo stammered, "…she – the vampire – was upset, and I…eh…"_

_"It's all right, Kurosaki-kun!" Orihime said in a hurry, "I mean, I didn't tell anyone…well, except for one person," she added the last part very quietly, and Ichigo didn't hear, "and of course I'm not going to, and I was the only one who saw because I switched the screens before anybody else could see…and I was…eh…wondering…why…?"_

_Ichigo stood looking at her for a minute more before his mouth opened. "Inoue…"_

_"You...never mind, you don't have to explain yourself. It's okay, Kurosaki-kun, I shouldn't pry into them. It's okay, really."_

_"…thanks, Inoue," he said, a little uncertainly. "And…could you not tell anyone else?"_

_"Of course I won't," she said._

_It was a lucky thing none of the security cameras were advanced enough to include audio._

_"Maybe…today…maybe you want me to change the camera screens again?" she asked him, hesitantly, and he saw in her eyes that she had a pretty thorough concept for understanding a situation…well, coming from someone who regularly acted like a ditz. "I could change them until you tell me it's okay, if you want me to."_

_He was the one who couldn't meet her eyes then._

_"Yeah…thanks…Orihime."_

_She smiled._

_"No problem…Ichigo."_

And that had been that. So now, he could talk to Rukia without fear of being watched like they had been the other day, when he'd completely forgotten about the cameras in the room and had only thought of Rukia.

"Hey, are you all right?" he asked her, noticing that she seemed more tired than usual, and still trying to keep eye contact away from him.

"Yes, I'm…fine," she said.

He couldn't understand why she was being so distant. Sure, the other day, she had displayed weakness to him, but it wasn't warranting the avoided contact and that unmistakable flinch from his touch. And if she was worried about the weakness then she would appear angry, not defeated. So what the hell was going on?

And it was bothering him that she couldn't look at him the way she used to.

"Rukia…you…" he sighed. There was really nothing for him to say. "Well, you look tired. You should get some sleep, and I…I should return to my duties."

"Yes, see you later…" Rukia said, and her eyes only caught his once before turning back to the book…the book she was reading, even though her eyes never moved and her hands never flipped a page. Ichigo noticed all these little things, but made no comment.

The next day was the same. Rukia couldn't look him in the eye, shied away from his touch, and he was confused as to hell as to what was going on. She took blood from him, but that was about it.

It was beginning to irk him to a point where he could no longer keep silent about it. On his third day, the day he actually had nothing to do, he came to her again.

"So, what's up?" he asked her, as he came to sit down next to her. Her position had moved very little in all the days he had come, all the days following her…confession…of sorts.

"Nothing," she said, her eyes glued to the book.

"What are you reading?"

"Just…eh…a book about…an art thief."

"Really? Is it interesting?"

"Yeah, it's okay…"

"Do you like it?"

"Yes, I do…"

"How's the plot?"

"It's…interesting."

"A page-turner?"

"Yes."

"Really?"

"Yes."

"Damn it, Rukia!" Ichigo suddenly exploded, causing her face to turn towards his for a fraction of a second before quickly turning away. But he would have none of that; his hands caught each side of her face and forced her to look into his eyes.

"Just what the _fuck_ is up with you lately, Rukia?" he yelled. "You don't look at me, you're flinching every goddamn time I touch you, you talk in this listless voice about things that normally would have interested you…what is going on with you?"

"It's…it's nothing," she said, but now she was looking into his eyes, and he could see the lie. "Really, it's nothing important!"

"My ass it's nothing important," he said angrily. "You haven't been yourself lately. What's wrong with you? Stop lying to me, because I know you are, and I am going to make you tell me what it is even if I have to shake the truth out of you !"

"It's nothing," she said, but Ichigo noticed the way her fine eyebrows upturned, how her blank violet eyes were becoming glassy with emotion, how she was looking at him – really looking _at_ him – for the first time in days.

"Rukia…" he said, softly this time. "What the hell is the matter with you?"

"It's…just…" Her eyes turned to the side, and Ichigo let go of her face. "Ichigo, did you know that…that…you look a lot like…him?"

"Like who?" They were sitting side-by-side, backs against the glass cell. He studied her face carefully. Her skin was still pale, her lashes still dark, her form still slim. The contrast, even now, created that unearthly waiflike effect on him – delicate, casual in perfection , beauty with the fragility of glass that needed to be protected. The first time he'd noticed that, Ichigo had thought how alive, how _human_ – how non-vampiric – it made her look. That moment struck at him now harder than ever.

"Like…"

"Like who?"

"Like…Kaien," she whispered haltingly.

The moment seemed to be stuck in a freeze-frame. "You mean…I look a lot like _Kaien_?"

He regretted the stress on the name the moment Rukia flinched. However, he was in too much shock to do anything about it.

"Yes."

"But…how?"

"Just…physically…I mean, you aren't identical…he had black hair and darker eyes, and he was taller than you…but you look alike, kind of…"

"So you mean, I look like this Kaien bastard, and that's why you've been ignoring me."

"No, well…yes, kind of…"

"Why didn't this happen before?" His voice was calm, controlled, and it betrayed little of the fury he was really feeling.

"I…I did see you as Ka – Kaien before, but it went away, and then…the fire, and then I started remembering…"

"So just because you remember this Kaien bastard you automatically compared him to me."

"Ichigo–"

"You always saw me as Kaien, didn't you?"

"I didn't say that!" Rukia's voice was beginning to rise.

"Yes you did! That's why you've been avoiding me!" Ichigo stood up, mind beyond feeling shock. He was angry, he was _furious_…and, he realized, he felt hurt. This was more than looking like someone who was killed, it was that _Rukia_ was the one seeing him this way…and that hurt, in the hidden part of his heart Ichigo usually kept reserved for those he genuinely cared about.

"I didn't _want_ to avoid you, and I didn't mean for it to happen like this!"

"So even though you see me as Kaien, you didn't _want_ to avoid me?"

"This isn't my fault, you know! I just can't command myself to stop seeing you as him!" Rukia said. She stood up as well, shakily, while Ichigo paced back and forth in the small circular cell. "Ichigo, stop it! You do look a lot like him but I didn't say because of that you automatically were! Ichigo, are you listening to me? I–"

Reaching for his arm, Rukia was cut off as Ichigo did the most unexpected thing.

He kissed her.

Encircling his arms around her small frame, he kissed her, fleetingly.

They broke away, still close, Ichigo panting from the adrenaline and Rukia looking up at him with her violet eyes, mouth slightly parted. They were still so close, his lips could have brushed hers again if he spoke.

He pulled back a little and swallowed. "Was that like Kaien?" he asked fiercely, breathlessly. "You say I look like him, do I act like him, do I kiss like him too? Am I Kaien in every way? Am I like that fucking bastard in _every_ way?"

"Ichigo, no, I…I didn't say that…I…"

But he didn't want to hear her excuses; he had kissed her, she was not refusing him, and in some part of his mind Ichigo realized he had waited too long to do what he had already done, and that, like a drug, he only wanted more.

He kissed her again, her soft lips under his, and she had wound her arms back around him. Her mouth parted for his as he bit at her lower lip, tongues intermingling, and he was pleasantly surprised to find that her mouth was warm, not cold like everybody said vampires were.

This was quickly growing past anything he had ever expected, but he just couldn't stop himself…as he gently sucked on her lip, hands roaming, reaching up to cup the back of her neck and open her mouth to him further…

"Ichigo…" Rukia said, sounding as breathless as he felt – even though she didn't need to breathe. "Ichigo…"

He pulled his face away from hers. "Rukia…"

She was still in his embrace, he noticed, even though he was crushing her to him, the entire front of her body molded against his. Her arms were wrapped around his waist, and it was this notice of returned embrace did Ichigo think that this might not turn out so awkward.

But for the moment, all he could do was stare in her eyes. Far from trying to hide from his gaze, now she returned it, almost unblinkingly, lips slightly pink and looking thoroughly kissed.

They were forehead-to-forehead. "Ichigo…" Rukia said softly, "what just happened?"

"I have no idea," he replied. He closed his eyes.

"Are you calmer now?"

That stung, just a little, but he knew it wasn't undeserved.

"Yeah."

She reached up to gently kiss the edge of his lips, and he opened his eyes to look at her again.

"You know…I really don't know what to say," he confessed, looking a bit uncertain, hand inadvertently stroking her back again.

"Don't worry, neither do I," she said, smiling. And then he started smiling too.

"You aren't Kaien…" she said softly. "I know you aren't Kaien, and yet sometimes the image of his is so strong that I…I don't know…it's not like I want to see you as him. And there were the times I saw you as just Ichigo…"

Ichigo said nothing, just brought her closer to breathe in her scent. Vampires were supposed to be cold and dead, but Rukia was so warm…and she had a scent. Placing his nose in her hair, Ichigo closed his eyes and just stood there. He must have been out of his mind to stand there, embracing what had been his enemy, but he did.

* * *

"So, just what happened that night in the fire? I never really did get what went on, other than the fact that the vampires attacked us."

"I really don't know that myself. I…it wasn't like there was supposed to be any kind of rescue mission implemented for the captured. Normally vampires don't care about the ones who get captured, because we know they'll most likely end up dead anyway."

"Eh, yeah…"

The two of them were relaxing against the glass door, and earlier, in a striking twist of intimacy, Ichigo's hand had snaked around her waist to pull her to him. And so they sat like that, with she leaning her head against his shoulder.

"Maybe because you're special."

"Special? In what way? I only have strange wings."

"And weird eyes."

"I do not have weird eyes!"

"Yes you do. No normal Japanese person has eyes like yours."

"I could say the same for your hair," she grumbled.

"Can't help. From my mother's side."

"Oh yeah, she was the one who ran away with your father, right?"

"Well," he scratched his cheek, "I guess you could say that, though I would have said 'eloped.'"

"So where are your parents now?"

It was such an innocent question, but when Ichigo didn't answer her immediately, Rukia glanced at him. She lifted her head from his shoulder. "Ichigo?"

"Nah, it's okay…I got over it. She…my mother…" he took in a breath, "…my mother's dead."

"She died? What about your father?"

"Yeah…my father's fine, but my mother…she was killed by a vampire."

Rukia just stared at him in understanding for a while, and then looked down. "O – oh, I see." And she actually made to pull away from him before his hand tightened around her waist, and he pulled her back to him.

"No, like I said, it's all right…I put it behind me already."

"You're a horrible liar," Rukia said quietly.

"Heh…I'm working at it."

"…I'm sorry about your mother."

"Yeah…"

"…what happened?"

"You know, that's another thing I don't really know. I was fifteen at the time, and my family…we were taking a walk. And out of nowhere this vampire just jumped out, towards me, and my mother protected me. And she died. The bloodsucker drained her dry." There was a hard, cruel edge to his voice that made Rukia look at him in wonder; she had rarely heard him speak in such a tone.

"The next few years were the worst of my life, ever. I was so bent on revenge that it completely destroyed any chance of a normal childhood. I started searching for that vampire without stop. My family suffered, my grades suffered, everything did. Because I did everything I could to find that vampire…drugs, sex, alcohol, gangs…everything. Almost murder."

"You did?"

"Yeah, and it paid off, almost two years to the date. Cornered the bloodsucker, fought him, killed him so easily it surprised even me. I guess I must have caught the eyes of some hunters, 'cause they recruited me that night, put me in Training for a year, and I've been hunting ever since. Even got my family in it too."

"So that means…you're…eighteen? Nineteen?"

"Twenty."

Rukia sighed and turned her face into the crook of his neck and shoulder. "I'm sorry about your family."

"Yeah…me too. But it's okay now."

She noticed his hand tightened exponentially around her waist as he said that.

* * *

He was definitely out of his mind. He was so _out of his _fucking _mind_.

It was the only reasonable explanation he had.

"Ichigo…" Rukia whispered as he broke off the kiss. She was so warm, so warm. "Are you sure, I mean…cameras…?"

"There are none," he whispered back sharply, stroking the skin of her cheek and pulling her face closer.

Ichigo had to be satisfied with just that. Touching her face made him want to touch her more…but that was something that he just could not do.

"Don't worry about it…" And his lips were on hers again, and she was kissing him back, and he couldn't care about anything else when she was so close.

He was so out of his mind.

* * *

"Can you see something, Hitsugaya-kun?"

"Yeah…way down. I mean, _way_ down. Maybe four or five stories…I think…my eyes don't go that far."

"See anything else, gaki-dono?"

"Renji, I already stated my limits."

"Well, excuse me, Mr. I've-got-laser-vision Hitsugaya. So sorry that not all of us are blessed with special abilities."

"All right, all right, enough of this, you two; are you ready, Abarai-kun?"

"Get on with the damn thing already, Urahara!"

"Ouch! Ouch, that hurt, Abarai-kun…ready, Byakuya-san?"

"Yes."

"Ready, Ukitake-san?"

"Yes, ready, Urahara-san."

"Everybody else okay?"

Murmured assent.

"Good, good…time to strike."

* * *

**tsuzuku**


	13. The Truth Hurts

I swear, I laughed at this personal review someone sent me: "Hrm...my only compliant is that I can't see two top hunters, two top BADASS hunters drinking long island iced teas. As much as I'd hate to say it...and granted I'm sure it comes off as a bit...sexist...but that is a girley drink. You don't talk over a long island iced tea, you talk over something straight...you are diluting your pleasures after all." You know who you are ;-p

I know about the "girley" drink. Its purpose was trying to flesh out more of Ishida's character, where he's not so rough and masculine on the inside as most others - including Ichigo. However, upon review, I supposed that it was better to make him appear more "manly," and thus, if you check back two chapters, you'll see I've changed it :-)

This fic is rated R because of language, violence, and sensuality. If any of the aforementioned offends you, please do not read.

Review if you like. No flames, please.

A/N added 07/05/05: I'm going to be away for two months vacationing in Japan; I don't know if I'll have computer access...hopefully so, but if not, no new chapters til the beginning of September.

* * *

**kaerichi****  
**Chapter 13

* * *

"BEEEEEP! BEEEEEP! BEEEEEP! BEEEEEP! BEEEEEP!"

Quicker than a flash, Ichigo and Rukia separated, each looking around each other for the source of the obvious alarm. If one couldn't hear the sound, you couldn't miss the red searchlights that were currently whirring about in the room, like the lights of an emergency ambulance, cutting glaringly across the room.

Rukia wondered if someone had caught them, well, snuggling, but then suspected that this was something bigger going on…

"Sorry Rukia I gotta go! That's the invasion alarm! I think something's going on!" Ichigo said without even a backward glance, leaping out of the cell like a shot and quickly closing the door. "I'll find out what's wrong and be back in a sec!" he said over his shoulder.

"Sure…" she said, watching his orange hair disappear behind the sliding metal door. The day had been so peaceful, too, until the alarm had gone off…and even though the intimacy between her and Ichigo was rising to a level she considered dangerous, she just couldn't break it off…

Caught up in her thoughts, she noticed the door slide open. And because she trusted Ichigo's words, she said, "Oh, back already, Ichigo…?" before what was before her eyes registered before her brain.

"Who the fuck is Ichigo?" a very familiar red-haired man said, one eyebrow raised in his severe face.

Her tongue died. For a moment, that is.

"Re – Renji!"

"In the flesh," he stated proudly, thumping himself on the chest like his presence was something to be honored and worshipped. "Anyway, we've come to save you, Rukia. I hope you know what a pain in the ass you've been for us to even try this!"

"Wh – What? Come to…save me?" The words were foreign in her throat; it took a while for her to register that she had even repeated him.

"Yeah, come to save you!" There was a frustrated squabble at the controls, while Hitsugaya and Renji messed around with it, trying to decide how it worked while Hitsugaya tried to see if using his special vision would work. Nope.

"Oh, move over, you two, and let me try."

Hinamori pushed past Renji to take the head of the controls, studying the multitude of buttons and keypad controls available in front of her. Suddenly, her eyes closed, then opened; but now there was a strange light to her eyes, and Rukia knew that Hinamori was using her own special ability.

"There's one main password to open the cell, other than hitting the F2 key first, hitting the number 8 after the password and then enter. The password changes every hour, and right now it is…" she trailed off, and her eyes were moving back and forth furiously, "…SHIROI37531BIRU, I think…the password's going to change in another 11 minutes, 27 seconds." She entered the password slowly, carefully. "And the funny thing is that there's no katakana or kanji…it's all in hiragana…"

She pressed the red button, the same red button that Rukia had always seen Ichigo press, and the door opened softly. She stared at it. It was such a simple action, but yet, it mystified her with the mixed feelings it now brought. A month ago, she would have been ecstatic, leaping out with no hesitation and already planning her revenge against those who held her.

Yet so much had changed since then.

And that was why, silently, she just watched the door open in front of her.

"Well, come on, Rukia!" Renji impatiently held out his hand for her to grab, helping herself down from the slight platform her cell was on. As he grabbed her wrist, though, sudden sparks of blue lightning emitted from the four aura-restricting bracelets she still wore, and they both let out a yelp of pain as it singed both skins. Renji started to heal immediately; Rukia, not nearly so fast.

"What the fuck are those?" Renji yelled as he massaged his burnt arm.

"They're aura-restrictors," Rukia explained. "It's how they keep captured vampires from breaking out, because it restricts their aura."

"You mean…you haven't been able to use your aura _all this time_?"

"Don't sound so shocked, Renji. We knew the hunters probably had some kind of technology like this," Hitsugaya said. "The only question is, how do we get it off without hurting Rukia?"

"The hunters were always the ones who took them off," Rukia said. "I think it works on the assumption of blood – humans have human blood, and a human aura…we have a vampiric aura, and these things are probably made to recognize that and separate it. Pretty advanced, for the hunters."

"Sounds plausible," Hitsugaya nodded.

"Had a lot of time to think."

"That still doesn't answer the question of how we're getting out!" Renji yelled. "Our plan for getting her out didn't include having to drag her like human baggage out of here! We thought she'd be able to use her aura! Now what?"

"We ask a human to take it off; it's as simple as that," Hitsugaya said. And he opened his mouth to say something else, but another voice interrupted that.

"Sorry…but you need to handle those bracelets in a special way, otherwise they'll just shoot off more sparks. You didn't really think we were going to let our vampire go without a fight, did you?"

Renji cursed. Standing in the door was not only Ichigo, but also Ishida, and a whole lot of other hunters whom Rukia had never seen before. And they were all holding advanced weaponry, pointed straight at them, lethal-looking things well oiled and well practiced.

"Step away from her," Ichigo indicated with his gun. "You, the one with the red hair."

Renji cast a glance at her, and then at Hitsugaya. And Rukia knew she hadn't missed the obvious understanding between them. Shit. All hell was going to break loose in another minute or two, she was sure of it.

And she was right.

Faster than the eye could see, Byakuya and Ukitake, who had infiltrated the hunter base first, struck out at their "comrades," clothed in hunter uniform, so that no one (at first) could tell what was happening and to whom. Second, Hitsugaya and Hinamori used their shunpa to speed their way into the fray, and last of all, Renji picked Rukia up like a sack of potatoes and used his still-developing shunpa to try and race past the fiasco.

There was a sudden explosion that rocked the building, and Rukia twisted herself around in Renji's grasp to see what it had been. However, she could see no visible damage, so that meant something had gone off somewhere else…

Suddenly they were out, out into the corridor, and Rukia could still hear the battle going on behind them…and there were more hunters, shooting at them, and Renji hissed and Rukia knew he was hit, but it couldn't be too bad because he never wavered in his step…

_Ichigo…please, Ichigo, don't die…_ Rukia thought, as she saw the distance between her and the pursuing hunters grow larger. _Please, Ichigo, do anything else – fight, kill, injure, but please don't die…_

Renji seemed to have this building well-mapped out, for he made twists and turns around corners without hesitation, and it was a few moments shorter than what Rukia would've expected before they were near the exit, a plain door with steel bolting and code security, leading to the fire escape stairs. Hitsugaya, Hinamori, and Byakuya were already there.

"The others?" Renji practically yelled, breathless from having run so fast and having poured so much of his aura into his not-quite-yet-perfect shunpa.

"They went another direction and escaped already. Rukia still alive?"

"Shut up, Hitsugaya."

He smirked. "Just a simple question."

They unlocked the door, again with Hinamori's special ability, and they were almost all through before Rukia saw an orange head shoot past, and then stop, before running down the corridor towards them . Her insides squeezed; Ichigo was still alive, but if her friends caught him…!

Too late. Renji, having recognized the orange-haired captain from the night of the fire, whipped around the door and stood behind the hunter, whipping out a small dagger from a side pocket as he did so. And now he stood, the knife a hair's breadth away from the hunter's jugular vein. And of course, being a vampire, Renji could detect it easily.

"Look, fucker," he growled lowly, "I remember you from the fire. Who I am doesn't matter, and if you don't want your blood splattered across the walls, I suggest you follow my commands."

Ichigo seethed but kept still.

"Now, I want you to take off the bands on my friend's wrists. Go on. You yourself said only a hunter could do it," he said, and there was a smirk in his voice. Carefully, they walked forward. Ichigo caught her eye, and she tried to make hers tell him not to do anything stupid.

Pinching the ends of the bands together, Ichigo took them off, one by one. And as the last silver one finally came off, a resurgence of her aura surged back to her limbs, as physically as if she had submerged herself in water. It was something that she had not felt in weeks. Oh, her aura…!

Some of her delight must have shown on her face, because Renji smiled a little before his face turned furious again, noticing who it was that he held. And even Ichigo was looking at her strangely; he did not look angry at all. Rather, he appeared tired. Defeated, maybe.

Renji's hand tightened on the dagger. Again, Rukia's insides squeezed…but now she had her aura, and it suddenly thrust itself at Renji without her really meaning to. Surprised at the prickly feeling of an offensive aura, Renji let his hand drop. "…Rukia?"

"No! No, don't," she said, sounding a little more frantic than she would have liked. "This hunter has been good to me…he was the only one who was kind to me, so leave him, Renji, let him live…he might even be killed for taking off the aura-restricting bands, so leave him…a life debt for a life debt."

His hand tightened around the dagger even more, she noticed out of the corner of her eye. Ichigo was still standing motionless, and even though she had been speaking to Renji, her eyes never left Ichigo's.

Finally Renji let out an angry sigh, sidestepping the two to move out past the door. He knew how closely Rukia followed the respects of life debts. The rest of the vampires had already escaped, as Renji had told them to.

"Hurry up, Rukia," he said, without looking at her. "We don't have all fucking night."

And Rukia made to leave, watching Ichigo's eyes follow her, and Renji was already running up the stairwell, several floors up. Suddenly: "Wait, Renji, go on without me, I'll be there in a second!"

And before he could reply, she dashed back out and pulled Ichigo inside the stairwell, grasping the front of his shirt, using his tilted balance to smash his lips to hers in a demanding, smothering kiss. The stairwell was dark and quiet, and there were no cameras.

It was Rukia who pulled away. "Ichigo…Ichigo, I…I'm going to leave now," she said, her breath very warm against his lips, "but…I…" She cast a look upward, where Renji was calling out for her. "Meet me," she whispered swiftly, "Meet me at the pastry café in the Goukai Central building in Shinjuku, three days from now, at one p.m." Again, she cast a look up the winding stairs, and then reached up to place a soft, hasty kiss on his lips. "All right?"

"All right," he said. "Now…go. Go, Rukia."

And he pushed her away, and she ran up the stairs, and she smiled.

* * *

Once they were out of the building, getting back to the vampire main building was no problem. No one was following them, but that didn't stop their hasty departure by van. Wheels skidded across the asphalt, a few humans cursed what appeared to be "teenage foolishness," and they were out of there faster than anyone could blink.

Rukia, watching the flashing scenery, then turned forward. They were in two vans , all the main vampires behind her rescue in one, and she in another, plus one: Urahara.

"All right," she began, calmly, "now that everything has been said and done, I want you to tell me this, Urahara-san: just what the _fuck_ is all this about?"

"Ah, dear Kuchiki-san, everything might be _done_ but most definitely everything is _not_ said," Urahara replied, smiling over to her. It was that I-know-something-you-don't smile that unnerved her sometimes. "I should have suspected your brilliant mind would figure in a suspicion among our pure intentions."

"Urahara-san…please. Don't give me bullshit."

"Very well, Kuchiki-san…" Urahara drew himself up. He folded his hand into his oversized sleeves, and his wide-brimmed hat suddenly blanketed his eyes in darkness. "I suppose now is as good a time as any."

Rukia wondered who was driving; but then she figured it didn't matter much anyway, since , strangely, there was an opaque glass barrier between the back and driver's seat. She didn't concentrate on the matter long. Urahara had started to speak.

"You, of course, Kuchiki-san, know that you were born sometime in the 1800s. At the time, Japan did not have the current year standard that the world now follows, so you have never known the exact year. However, that is something that I do know: it was 1854, and American Commodore Matthew Perry had just landed ashore."

"What does this have to do with my rescue?" she asked him, half bored, half curious.

"That's coming, coming…anyway, another thing you have never known is who your father was. I do not know that either. All I know is that the reason you are part white is because your mother, a Japanese citizen, was attacked and raped by a sailor aboard one of Commodore Perry's ships, and she became pregnant from it. That child was you."

"What?" Rukia was horrified. "You…you mean…"

"Yes."

"But my…my mother never said anything about that! She said…" Now that Rukia thought about it, she had never heard a word about her father from her mother, back when she'd been a real human…her beloved mother, Kuchiki Hisana, would just smile slowly and painfully and make whispered excuses. Now…it made perfect sense.

"Yes, your father was American, hence your eyes."

"But…"

"However, that is not all. In an ironic twist of fate, your mother attracted another person to her: she must have, but this person I have never known either. To be honest, all that we know about this nameless person is that he, or she, was a vampire, and that he or she turned your mother. Turned your mother when she was pregnant with you."

"When she was…with me? But…but…wouldn't I have died?"

"You'd think so, wouldn't you? Something like this did happen a second time, and the fetus was born dead, as one would expect. But you survived. I haven't a clue why. Who know, it could have been just luck. But you survived, and you were born of two races, of two worlds, born of the living _and_ of the dead…" he paused. " You seemed human at birth , but when you were turned by Kaien , your power came to light...and this is why I think you have a special kind of power, one that no other vampire has."

"You mean…"

"I mean your wings, your aura. Yourself, Kuchiki Rukia."

Rukia sat there in shocked silence, letting Urahara's words wash over her, water in a sea in which she couldn't swim. All the holes in her life, the gaps, they'd all been filled, but if she had thought they would one day bring happy memories, all Rukia felt now was an emotionless vacuum. Her mother, raped and turned, she, born of both the living and dead, a living memory of the two most painful times in her mother's life, and then spending how many years under constant torture by her "Master" Kaien…her life and that preceding it was nothing short of fodder for suicide.

"And of course, your mother was immortal too, but unfortunately she was killed and we shall never know who originally turned her," Urahara said. He folded his fingers together, watching her carefully under the brim of his hat. It annoyed her. What, did he think she was going to go ballistic on him or something? "I know this must come as a shock, Kuchiki-san, but it's the honest truth."

"…and how do you know all this, anyway?"

"I've been around. I know everything that happened in Japan from before it even had a name," Urahara said.

Rukia nodded mutely.

"And since the hunters took some blood from you with intent of studying it, during your rescue mission, I could not be there with you because I had to destroy that sample. Can you imagine it, Kuchiki-san? Can you imagine what would happen if the hunters ever figured out the circumstances of your birth?"

She shook her head. "The hunters never took blood from me."

"They did. Maybe when you were unconscious, but they did."

"…what for?"

"If they ever decoded your blood, so to speak, they might be able to breed super-hunters. I'm sure they were highly interested in the fact that you're very different from the rest of us. They probably wanted all the information they could from you. It's not enough that they're already meddling with auras and such. The hunters would be able to breed super-hunters for their side, and if they all had special, heightened abilities like yours…you can imagine what would happen to the vampires in a short period of time."

"But they would be born human…they would have to be turned into vampires to be useful," Rukia said in a hollow voice. The words _"They probably wanted all the information they could from you…"_ was ringing in her head… that, and the thought of her hunter friend, her only hunter friend, Kurosaki Ichigo…

"Like you, you mean. Perhaps not necessarily. In any case, I'm glad that we no longer have to worry about finding out." He stopped talking.

Rukia didn't feel like talking, either.

An old wound was beginning to burn in her heart, and if she started speaking, the wound would overflow her words and betray just how shattered her perspective really had become.

"Kuchiki-san…I know it's too much. But you're well over a hundred years old – young by our standards, but old by others'. And it would have been crueler to keep you naïve then to give you the truth," Urahara said quietly. "You'll understand, someday."

She nodded. "I do…" she all but whispered. "…thank you."

The scenery flashed past, and just now the sky was beginning to darken…but all the beauty of the long-unseen sky was lost to her eyes. Urahara didn't say anything further, but sat watching her for a long time. He was trying to pry past whatever layer he knew she'd put up, but she would never allow him the option of hurting her – of devastating her faith – any more than he already had.

They finally reached the main building the vampires used as command center.

The room she was left alone in was small and silent.

Rukia was the only vampire in the world with the ability to cry, to shed real tears.

She allowed herself the luxury.

* * *

**tsuzuku**


	14. Reality: pt I

I loved writing this chapter. ;-p Although I've found I don't like previous chapters, and I'm aiming for revision...but whatever.

I'm still on vacation and really, everything's wonderful here in Japan – I even love the earthquakes, how do you like that. But anyway. The computer I'm using now is Japanese-oriented, so I'm sorry if some of the text comes off a bit warped. And _big_ thank-yous to all the people who reviewed, because honestly, I'm flattered by all your praise and demands to keep the story going. So cheers to another chapter!

This fic is rated R because of language, violence, and sensuality. If any of the aforementioned offends you, please do not read.

Review if you like. No flames, please.

* * *

**kaerichi  
****Chapter 14**

* * *

Her heart leapt into her throat just at the mere sight of him. He had to do nothing more than just sit there, looking as memorable as the depiction of a Greek god in statue, but could still make her feel like a schoolgirl under the spell of a first crush.

But she steeled her will, and headed in.

The look of admiration that briefly flitted across his eyes made her think, for one second, that all the time she had spent fretting and fussing over her clothes had been worth it – that she needed to wear something amazing to make up for all the time he had seen her in her vampire robe only.

Ichigo himself looked so cool and casual in his clothes that she nearly swelled with self-indulgent pride.

"Rukia…" he said, standing up as she came to the table. The small little café was quaint and bright, selling French bread and other types of American pastries. Ichigo looked out of place among the dainty floral prints, but it had been the only place Rukia had thought of when she had mentioned it during their last meeting, and anyway none of that mattered.

"Hello, Ichigo…" she replied. To his credit, Ichigo pulled out her chair before seating himself again. She noticed a few empty bread wrappers.

"Got here early?"

"Yeah…a little. Ate a few things already, if you don't mind."

"No, I don't."

"So, everything okay on your end?"

"Yeah, just about."

"Hectic over on my side…everyone's uptight."

"Oh…I would've suspected that."

Somehow, this setting was too perfect, too formal for what she really wanted to ask him. Their conversation resembled such, boring and meaningless.

Ordering some tea, Rukia thought of some way to present her words, but they never came. The direct approach always worked best, after all. "Ichigo…"

"…?"

"…you know…" she paused, "…all those times you stayed with me…all those times you…defended me from the others," she added the last part with hesitation, "…was that all real?"

"…what?"

"It just occurred to me the other day, that…it was strange the hunters weren't…studying me, to say. But I just found out that they did take things from me, like blood, and wouldn't they have wanted information too?" This was slowly getting easier; she was saying everything pointedly without looking at Ichigo's face. "If you have something you don't know, then of course you want information, right? Then of course you would want the test subject to explain things, right? Then of course the information would be–" She stopped. Her voice had cracked.

Ichigo was many things, but naive would never be one of them. His sharp intake of breath told her that he realized what she was talking about. And when he hadn't immediately offered a comforting or reassuring reply, Rukia despaired.

Her tea arrived; she stood up and drank down the scalding liquid, burning her tongue and throat and already feeling it heal. Without another word, she left the table.

She ignored the footsteps that she heard pursuing; even when a hand grabbed her wrist, she tore it out of his grasp and continued on walking.

"Rukia! Rukia, wait!"

Her wrist was in a vice grip so tight that she would cause a scene in fighting her way out of it. And she couldn't afford to draw a vampire's attention to her with a hunter. So, resignedly, she turned to him.

"Rukia, you…you're wrong, you…"

"How am I wrong?" she asked him in a voice that was supposed to come out icy, but instead switched to upset. "You can't tell me it isn't true! You can deny that what I said was the truth, because I know it, and you know it!" she said in a furious whisper, so that none of the passing bystanders knew anything was out of the ordinary. "All that time, Ichigo, all that time you were just…just being such a _hunter_." Her eyes drew into shadow. "I should have known, really, it was so–"

"Rukia, shut up," Ichigo cut in harshly. "What the fuck do you think I – _we_ – were doing back in the hunters' base? I tell you one thing, Kuchiki Rukia, I may have started out with those intentions but I _don't_ kiss and tell, acting like I care just for information! Not any more!" This entire conversation was being carried out in whispers, and he was glaring at her; his hands came up to the sides of her face to hold her gaze to his.

"So you admit it. You were…it was the information that you…" The old wounds of the heart were bleeding afresh…

"Rukia, for fuck's sake, stop acting so goddamn wounded. I tell you it happened that way, but things changed! Can you hold something against a person for the rest of their life if you know that one instance will change them forever?"

"_Nothing_ has changed," she insisted, "and moreover–"

"Rukia, you idiot…_everything_ has changed," Ichigo whispered, and they were so close together she could have counted every eyelash over his russet eyes. "And when I say everything, I mean fucking _everything_. I never thought I would become friends with a vampire, I never thought I would ever owe one my life, I never…" he stopped, visibly battling his own will, before continuing: "I never thought I could care about another person, really care…especially someone like you." His hard thumb stroked her cheek. "So don't you fucking _dare_ say that nothing has changed, Kuchiki Rukia, or I will hunt you to the ends of the earth to make you see just how fucked up things have really become."

She drew in a breath. "Ichigo…I…you…"

The worst part about all this, she knew, was that she _wanted_ to believe him. She truly wanted to believe that he was speaking as Kurosaki Ichigo, the person, and not Kurosaki Ichigo, the hunter. And because she wanted this so badly, her once ironclad assumption was beginning to waver.

And then, as if to purposefully drive his conviction home, Ichigo leaned down to kiss her. A soft, tender kiss that, with its gentleness, so starkly contrasted their previous argument that there was a physical twinge in her chest. Rukia surrendered to the feeling, the euphoric contentment she had only felt when in his presence, responding to the kiss even as his tongue pushed past her mouth and she let him dominate her in the way only Ichigo would ever know…afterward, he embraced her close.

"I have no idea what's going on," Ichigo said quietly after they broke apart from the kiss, she with her nose in the crook of his shoulder. "Things are just happening and I can't stop them. I don't know what to do. I have no idea what's right any more."

"…"

"Do you believe me, Rukia?" He paused, and his voice was strained. "Do you trust me?"

It was impossible for her to explain how touched she was in that moment, the level of trust Ichigo placing in her rusting away at the chains that were holding back her emotions. Yes, she did trust him…trusted him almost more than herself.

"Yes…" she said quietly. "I do."

"Then we agree to never speak of this again?"

She nodded. "As long as I never have to wonder."

"In the future?"

"Yes…" she said softly. "…in the future."

At the moment, Rukia was too afraid to think further into the future, to where the sure conflict of both worlds would begin, with an endless expanse following. It was so much safer to live in the present, to live in the moment where only a single matter counted. This – whatever "this" was, between her and Ichigo – would never last.

The most beautiful things in life are oft that which die the earliest.

* * *

Shibuya was so much more fun when spending it with someone close to you, Rukia decided, as she and Ichigo walked around the shopping district hand-in-hand. Whenever she could sense a vampiric or highly sharpened aura – the latter being a hunter's – she and Ichigo would have to quickly move out of sight. Aside from that, the rest of the day they spent together was uneventful.

But all the same, she loved it.

They went shopping; Ichigo bought himself a new shirt and they ate out. They talked amiably, like old friends, but there was always a moving undercurrent underneath their words, like buoyant pressure, like the pressure was moving their conversation to its ultimate point. Rukia wanted something from him, and felt that he probably wanted something from her – and, as various as their wants were, the longing was always there in the touch, the caress, the lingering hands.

All through the day they were fine. Neither of them lost it.

However, near the end of their "date," Rukia noticed a movie advertisement about a monster slayer that interested her; the outfit of the hunter, with all its leather and buckles and with his weapon hefted on his back, was slightly comparable to what Ichigo wore when he hunted. Rukia pointed this out to him, he shrugged, seeming highly disinterested, but then (to her surprise) paid for the movie immediately.

But the movie theater was a bad idea.

Rukia's hand ended up between them, resting at her side; Ichigo's hand moved over it, stroking the back of her palm gently with his thumb. The movie hadn't even playing twenty minutes. She looked at him, her eyes clear despite the darkness.

It was a moment of painful and breathtaking clarity that hung between them, slowing time into naught more than mere memory, and, then, it was only broken by the forward movement of Ichigo's head. In such a moment when the world was not watching, Rukia could not hide her real emotions.

Their lips met, softly at first, and then the greater reality of a darkened room overcame them and this time it was her tongue to seek out his, to push against his mouth until they met in a gasp of breath.

The kiss was no longer gentle; it was hard and desperate, and Rukia was acutely aware of when Ichigo shifted sideways and pressed her into the chairs. The chairs were too small to hold him over her; his right leg was on the floor, the left pressed against her thigh, as Ichigo shifted himself to cover her body.

He was so warm over her, and he broke off their kiss to trail his lips down her neck. His left hand was smoothing the skin of her thigh, pulling it up to bend at the knee to fit his angle better. The hem of her already short skirt was dangerously close to being pulled up to her waist, but Ichigo's hand left her leg.

Rukia nearly started from the feel of his hand, so warm and hard against her stomach. Her soft, breathy moan, the only evidence of her pleasure, was swallowed into a whimper as Ichigo reached up to kiss her again, his hand moving further and further up…

As his hand swept over her top rib, that triggered a memory.

_"No…stop it…stop it, Shiba-sama! Please, stop!"_

_"Shut up, bitch…you'll like it…if you keep struggling I'll fucking kill you!" And he said this as his hand reached up her shirt, and she was too weak against the force of his will…_

"No…no, stop it!" she said, pushing at Ichigo's chest as she suddenly snapped back to reality. His weight, his hand, all of this…it was too similar to that time. And even though Ichigo stopped immediately, Rukia's heart nearly froze as she pictured herself trying to fight out of his weighty, passionate, yet innocent embrace.

"Rukia? What's wrong?" Ichigo asked, a real trace of concern in his voice, inlaid with its husky overtones. His hand drew down her torso, making her acutely aware of how close he still was. Suddenly she was afraid again, like all the other times she had been in this situation…only now she had the power to stop it if she wished.

"I – I…I'm sorry, Ichigo, I can't…I'm not…I…" she gestured about herself helplessly, even as Ichigo drew away and helped her sit up. "Ichigo, I can't...it's…"

"It's all right," he said quietly, at once understanding. He pulled her to him. And while Rukia had felt the need to fight her way out of his first embrace, now she only wanted to hold him to her for as long as she could. This embrace was different. It was…comforting.

"It's all right…it's all right," he said.

"I'm sorry…" she whispered back, and even as she did so, wondered what she was apologizing for. She didn't owe him anything.

But somewhere deep in her heart, she knew that her last thought was untrue.

"It's all right," he said. "Really…besides, a movie theater really ain't the best place."

She laughed unconvincingly. There weren't many people in the theater, and thankfully no one near them, but she still kept her voice quiet. "Really, huh?"

And he smiled, a little. All the while, Rukia fixed her shirt, keeping the tremble of her fingers to a congratulatory minimum.

* * *

After the movie, some coffee at a busy shop provided a solution to their silence – a silence not entirely uncomfortable but encroaching upon it. Ichigo sat with a distant look on his face. Rukia sipped her hot mocha quietly, not knowing what to say.

She was being so stupid. Hadn't she decided that she would try to overcome her fear of Kaien? And yet every time something came to challenge that declaration, she would always crumble, the memories overcoming her until she would get a grip and steel herself again for the next challenge. And irrevocably, the same process was put on automatic repeat, even til that day! In all the time she'd had, with all the help and encouragement from friends, with Kaien's name fading from the memories of those around her even as she could not make herself forget, Rukia still hadn't taken even a single step ahead.

Getting over Kaien had to start somewhere. And she'd started somewhere, hadn't she? By seeing Ichigo as Ichigo, and managing to erase almost all of Kaien in his shadow. That was a start…shouldn't she take another step?

"Ichigo…"

He turned to her.

And she wanted to wipe the doubt from his face, the hurt and worry that danced behind his cool exterior. Honestly, she loved his touch. His words. His face. She adored these emotions, showcased time and time again when he would treat her like she was made of glass, so different from the handling she'd been used to.

Was it the man or the action herself that she was afraid of? Was it so possible to want a man so badly but still being unable to grant him the most complete sign of trust? Since Kaien's death, Rukia herself had never taken a partner, in leadership or intimacy, avoiding it to hide her greatest fear – that fear being afraid of her own self-confidence, and afraid that she could never give enough trust to a person she might share a bed with.

But she was past that stage. Hesitation, awkwardness, insecurity didn't count for shit now. She knew what she wanted and that was enough, wasn't it? Everyone wants to know what they want, and the goal was so clear that a telescope could not have sharpened it any. All that remained was the resolve. And, Rukia realized, it was the same resolve that, bizarrely, Ichigo had helped her to find.

Even if she still didn't know what was going on between her and the hunter, whether it be love or lust or turn out to be just a one-time thing…Rukia instinctively knew that she would only allow Ichigo to touch her this way.

_Only Ichigo._

That was the first example of her resolve, wasn't it?

Rukia put her coffee down, and immediately missed the warmth of the cup.

"Maybe…"

"Hn?" Ichigo turned to her.

"Maybe…you want to come to my place?"

She didn't look at him as she said this, but could sense his shock as apparently as if he'd said something to indicate it.

His hand came to hers, like her coffee: warm and soothing.

"…Rukia?"

And she met his eyes then. And Ichigo seemed to read her expression for a while before his hand tightened on hers.

"All right."

* * *

It started to rain as they stepped off the train entering Akasaka, just a light drizzle that they had no problem hurrying home through. However, just as the alcove of her lobby drew over her head, the sky let loose a colossal crack of blue thunder before really starting to pour.

"Come on…this way."

They entered the elevator.

"Floor?"

"15."

And it was in silence that they entered her apartment, Ichigo glancing around at the decorated furnishings while she stood and let him.

"…nice."

"Thank you."

He looked at her. Suddenly feeling very self-conscious under his gaze, Rukia brushed past him silently, lighting her many candles and then escaping out to the balcony. Ichigo followed after a while. Soon, he brought her closer, the action caring and hesitant; Rukia welcomed the gentle predecessor to what was to soon follow.

They stared out at the rain for quite a while, watching as it poured gray gloom over the nearby buildings, drenching streets and settling collectively over the city. And Ichigo and Rukia just watched in silence, his arms around her waist and she leaning back onto his chest.

It was comfortable.

And safe.

They were not going to avoid the inevitable; it was just a slight delay, perhaps to balance the implication of such a serious act that both so desperately wanted.

Finally Rukia pulled away and turned to Ichigo, catching his eye for a second before heading indoors without as much as a single word. He followed her, finding her already seated on the bed. She arose as he came closer.

"Rukia..." he whispered, as he bent his head.

"Yes?"

"Is this...really all right?" he asked, as his lips sought out hers. It was a gentle kiss, barely skimming the surface of deeper emotions.

"Why?" she whispered back. "Are you doubting this?"

"No."

"Then don't worry about it."

She kissed him then, rising to the balls of her feet, as his deliberations fell away and he returned the kiss with equal fervor. Rukia's head broke back, breath escaping in a soft moan as Ichigo's lips continued down the line of her jaw and to her neck, licking, pressing his tongue to her bared skin. His warm hand caressed under her shirt, and before she knew it, it was unbuttoned and off, and he was pushing her back onto the bed. She fell, taking him with her, the sheer closeness of him rising the need in her until she thought she would burst. All of it, all of him – his soul's strength, his hard body, his rough eyes, his hot skin...all of it was enough to make her just go insane in want of him.

Her hands were trembling, more noticeably by the second, he saw.

"Rukia…"

"No…don't mind it…it's just…you know." She took a breath. "It's all right…I'm fine." And she reached up to kiss him again, perhaps to wipe away his doubts, and at her memories. "Trust me, Ichigo, it's all right…"

"All right, all right…" Ichigo kept his body straight over hers as he kissed her again, a hard kiss with too much passion to be gentle, and had just broken away when he stopped. "Oh..._shit_."

"What is it now?" Rukia asked. The thought to be annoyed never crossed her mind; the frustration was greater.

"It's...just...I don't...I don't have..."

Realization dawning, Rukia laughed in spite of herself. "What? You don't have a condom?"

"Yeah."

She laughed again. "Ichigo, Ichigo. Forget the human trivialities! Vampires are dead; do you really think that they can create life?"

Her hands reached up to his face, pulling it back to hers. "...all vampires are sterile..." she whispered against his lips in a final sort of way.

"Oh...I didn't–" The rest of his sentence was abruptly cut off in another kiss, lips, tongue, and all. Hands that had previously been used only for killing now moved down her body, teasing her with lightly traced patterns on flawless skin, smothering her whimpers at the touch of his hand under her skirt…feeling spirals from her gut that were so incredibly wonderful and new and unexplainable and just so _good_ and – and Ichigo just wouldn't stop –

His lips pressed against the curve of her shoulder, the swell of her breast, and down to the navel of her stomach...as Rukia moaned underneath him, hands pulling off his shirt with a ferocity that surprised even her. In the desperation of passion, reason simply did not exist.

He let himself fall into her, losing himself, as if she had pulled her aura over him again, while the candles flickered in the darkness like so many paths to insanity.

* * *

**tsuzuku**


	15. Reality: pt II

In Japanese, there are two ways to say "I love you": suki and aishiteru. "Suki" is the more widely-used term, common between boyfriends/girlfriends and even best friends, and (because of ingrained culture) even husbands would be more likely to say "suki" to their wives rather than "aishiteru." So, I suppose one can see "aishiteru" as being the serious, meaningful love.

On another note, sorry for the delay. As you all know, I'm guessing, I was on vacation and just came back, and school starts tomorrow for me...but this chapter had to come up sometime. Yaye :-) And I also just added chapter titles, for your viewing pleasure ;-p

This fic is rated R because of language, violence, and sensuality. If any of the aforementioned offends you, please do not read.

Review if you like. No flames, please.

* * *

**kaerichi  
****Chapter 15**

* * *

For having always had such an amazing memory, what Rukia could actually recall about that night came in snippets, like short jerks of film. But it came with an overwhelming sense of calm – maybe even completion – and so she didn't mind the fact that she could not remember every single detail.

What she did remember was enough.

His hand catching her trembling fingers.

Whispered assurances against her ear.

The warmth of his body on hers.

Panting.

Finding the strength to unclench her hands from the sheets.

When she woke, in his arms, it took but a second for the night to flood back to her – that and the implications of what had been done. The implications that she knew could be possible now that she had gone and surrendered to desire. It wasn't a matter of regretting having given her body away, it was that he was a _hunter_.

But as she looked upon his face, relaxed in sleep, Rukia found that she couldn't draw her will to make herself properly ashamed, or even hate him. Because she did care about him...very much. More than she ever thought she could feel for anyone.

And it was there did the thought just float up, so easily that Rukia had _thought_ it before she _realized_ she thought it.

She loved him.

* * *

Ichigo's eyes blinked open, and his vision blurred for a second before he realized that Rukia was right in front of him, his Rukia with her beautiful violet eyes. She'd been looking at him, waiting for him to wake up. The reality of the situation overcame Ichigo as soon as he noticed her bare skin; that meant last night had not been simply his imagination. She had the sheet pulled up to preserve some of her modesty, but the way the sunlight hit the gentle slope of her shoulder, illuminating the upper portion of her body in a soft halo, was breathtaking.

"Good morning," Rukia said softly.

"Morning." He smiled, and suddenly sat up, impulsively catching her wrist with his hands and flipping her onto her back. It was in that way did he lean down to kiss her shoulder, smiling into her perfect skin, trying to ignore the fact that her breasts were pressing against his chest.

"Ichigo? What's with you?"

"Nothing." He closed his eyes, smiling, and withdrew. "What time is it?"

Rukia glanced on her clock on the far side of the room. "My clock says 9:40."

"Huh, no kidding. I haven't been awake this early in ages."

The two of them spent a relatively normal morning together – well, as normal as it could be for two people very unused to sleeping at night and getting up during the day. After a much-needed shower, Rukia went about brewing some coffee and making a grocery list for what human food she needed to buy herself. Even Ichigo managed to make some toast. He'd just turned to ask her if she had any butter or jam when it struck him.

Rukia was right next to him. He'd known that, of course, because she was looking through her cabinets, but his thoughts were as if had _always_ expected her to be there, at his side, so unlike any other time that he had spent a first morning after a first night.

Did that mean he already felt such a high level of familiarity in Rukia's presence that he no longer had to separate it into an unfamiliar category? But sometimes his mind played tricks with him; that had to be it, right? Or did he suddenly feel as if this was so normal, like a regular morning, and that everything was right and good and fine?

Deep down, that disturbed him.

On one hand, he wanted to stay with her. And on the other…

He wasn't supposed to be so relaxed, so off guard. If she wanted to Rukia could have killed him at a million different intervals by now. And yet he never felt the need anymore to put up a guard in her company, to filter all his secrets before he told them to her, to want to kill, or to hurt,or sometimes wonder what his pathetic existence was about. She had shown him a side of vampires he had never known – perhaps a side he'd never wanted to see, but it had been forced before his eyes nonetheless. And, even with that knowledge of their continuing war, all Ichigo wanted to do was make her happy. She made him want to be better than he was.

In short, Rukia made him live. To really want to _live_. And because she was the first person to ever, ever do so, Ichigo didn't know what to do.

* * *

She didn't deserve to keep leading him on this way. Ichigo had never spoken of where exactly their relationship was leading them, but Rukia knew it would never last. She knew it from the beginning, the first time Ichigo had ever managed to worm his way into her heart. They were too different, their horizons too vast. She was immortal, he was mortal. She was dead, he was alive. She was a vampire…he was a hunter. Opposite on all counts, they should never have come together.

But by some miracle, they had. But now all her doubts were sneaking up on her, silently and craftily, and usually making themselves known in some unusually painful way.

For instance, Rukia found herself noticing the quirk of his eyebrow, or the angles of his hand – some small thing like that – and he would catch her eye, and the thought that she would soon betray and leave him would burn her heart. Or sometimes, when she looked to her side and he was somewhere else, she felt disappointed, but guilty at the same time for thinking that he should have been there.

Ichigo was a hunter. She was a vampire. He had hunted her. What had made him so different, so special?

Because Ichigo was Ichigo. She loved him for who he was. And hunter though he might have been, that never seemed to carry enough weight whenever she weighed her past choices.

But Ichigo had to go back to his hunter base, and then he would become a hunter of her kind again. And she would go back to her base, and take up her chair of leader division, first-seat again. And if Urahara ever died, it would be her against the hunters, and then if they ever met in battle the only thing that was supposed to happen between a vampire and a hunter was…

She was getting too attached to him. She already had. It was already too late for her.

But maybe it wasn't too late for him. Maybe, if she pushed him away, then he wouldn't come after her…and if one day they did meet in a face-off, not as Ichigo to Rukia but as hunter to vampire, then he wouldn't have to pretend that he was hurting someone he cared about.

_She_ would have to pretend, though, all the way until he died, that this orange-haired hunter meant nothing to her. It was the only way she'd ever manage a clean break. However, acting opposite of her true emotions, especially with the years of Kaien's torture under her belt, was nothing.

For the first time ever, Rukia was thankful for that past cruelty. What she was about to do would be nothing new. She already knew what it felt like to suffer, to agonize in silence and wonder if there was some other way, all the while knowing that there was none. It had just never occurred to her that it was possible to take that past feeling a hundred steps higher.

Swallowing with difficulty, she finished her coffee in burning silence.

* * *

Rukia tried to make moments to tell Ichigo what she felt, but that perfect moment never came. Each time, she would look at the profile of her face, and her nerve would falter; then it was back to pretending as if nothing was bothering her in the slightest.

If Ichigo was thinking as much as she was, he did an excellent job of hiding it.

They separated that day, saying nothing of the next time they would meet, and Rukia's heart lifted a little in thought that he would never think of her again. She admitted, his casual goodbye had hurt, but it wasn't anything she wasn't unused to. And in any case, never speaking of another meeting wouldn't make her look forward to it. Rukia had to forget him.

She tried for two days.

And then he came to her house.

Rukia had aligned herself back to her sleep-during-day and awake-at-night schedule, and had just finished dressing herself to go out and find some human prey. She hadn't eaten in a couple of days, and hunger pangs – a very human trait – made her think too much of Ichigo.

But she could sense a hunter aura approaching her door. And she knew it was him.

He knocked.

She wanted to pretend she was out.

But that didn't seem to work; after two sharp knocks there was a jiggling at the door, and suddenly it swung open, the dim hall light outlining Ichigo's dark form like a menacing shadow. The key he'd used to open the door was in his hand.

_A skeleton key…Ichigo has a skeleton key…_

"…Ichigo?"

"…I had a feeling you'd be still at home," he said. "Sorry about coming in like I did…I just wanted to make sure that you were all right."

"Yes, I'm fine…" His closeness was too much. "Ichigo – "

The kiss was not unexpected. Sudden, and perhaps early in the conversation, but not unexpected.

And when she fell onto the bed, that wasn't unexpected either.Without the troubling, almost virginal fear that had been present in their first time together, Rukia was able to take notice of many more things about their midnight trysts – and now she could see every contour of Ichigo's body, the sweat, the muscles of his defined form…

Afterward, she lay in that bed and wondered how much longer she would let this continue on.

A couple more days and nights, and he'd come, but they never met outside like that first night…that was until one day she woke up before him. She watched him sleep. It was very much like their first time.

He didn't seem as bothered as she did…he didn't seem to be thinking as much as she did…if she left him, he wouldn't be hurt by it. Yes, it would all be for the best. Yes, it would.And then she could go back to being a vampire and he could go back to hunting them…and she would love him, and watch him fall in love with someone beautiful and pretty and human, and watch him grow old and forget all about her…

Rukia scrubbed at an itch on her eye.

And that was why, that day, she left her own apartment, with a note addressed to him on the bed.

* * *

And so, at the culmination of those days, that was how Rukia found herself on a quiet side street of town, all the small little businesses closed for the day. She had just fed, and so, with the absence of blood hunger, she was beginning to feel nervous.

But she was doing the right thing. She was doing the right thing.

Off in the distance, she could hear families preparing for dinner, a few mild arguments, bicycles pedaling, dogs being fed – all belonging to another life that she no longer had any claim to. But Ichigo did. Being selfish was not in her repertoire; it was not who she was. She couldn't keep him all for herself, hiding him away, especially when he had so much more to offer life.

Rukia's eyes lifted. Ichigo's aura approached long before he did; he never bothered to keep it hidden now. Arrogant and stupid, at the same time – any vampire could have tracked him to kill. She smiled, in spite of her morbid thoughts.

"Rukia."

"Good evening, Ichigo," she said. Her voice was a perfect match to the gently darkening sky, a dusky orange with gray pulling at the horizon, dying rose-colored beams of sunlight feebly streaking through.

"What did you want to meet all the way out here for? And at such a weird time."

She wanted to meet him somewhere quiet, unhurried…a place where no one would hear their conversation. Her hand clutched at the sleeve of her black coat.

"Ichigo…" She cleared her throat; her voice was a whisper. "I…"

"Rukia? Is something wrong?"

"This…it…it can't keep going on."

"This? What are you talking about?"

"This…thing…between us."

She saw the way his fist tightened, even shoved into the pocket of his loose, baggy pants. And when spoke next, the clueless edge to his voice was gone; now, it was low and rough.

"What about it?"

"I said…it can't go on." she said. Why was he making this so difficult? Couldn't he see she was already…hurting, dying?

"Why not?"

Her eyes met his, in both incredulous shock and carefully concealed happiness. Because, for him to challenge her statement, that meant he wanted to be with her…at least to some degree…

"…because…you're a hunter, and I'm…what you hunt. I'm a vampire, Ichigo. You hate my kind, don't you remember?"

"Why are you bringing this up now?"

"Because" – _I want to see you happy and you'll never be happy with me, because you're a hunter and I can never change that about you, wouldn't want to change anything about you, because you're absolutely perfect the way you are now…_ – "you're a hunter. I...I hate hunters."

He let that statement sink in a prelude to the slowly building explosion.

"So what, then?"

Tentatively, she raised her eyes to his.

"So you mean it all – everything – that was all some joke to you? Something you could brag about to your other vampire friends?" he said, voice rising. "Was that all? You meant it was nothing, right? _Nothing_. Not all the time back at base, all the time we spent out, all the nights…and the days…" He sucked in a breath, and turned away from her. "I should have suspected it. Damn fucking bloodsuckers…all they ever do is destroy your life. _My_ life."

He turned his back to her with an ironic laugh. "I trusted you, Rukia, do you know that? Go and brag and tell whoever you fucking want, I fucking trusted you. And yet you're just a little vampire bitch, always after some bigger prize. Let it be the joke of the month! Kurosaki Ichigo, trusting a vampire!"

"Ichigo, I didn't want it to be this way!"

"Sure, I know you didn't…that's why you hate me, right? Because I'm screwing up your grand eternal life. So sorry to have been a mar on your perfect record."

Her temper rose at that last remark. "Don't you _dare_ patronize me, Kurosaki Ichigo," she seethed, the hand on her coat arm now rigid. "You know fucking well that if you _were_ a mar, you would being neither the first of them nor the worst."

"Sure," he said, his head turning to the side, his back to her. "And Kaien's probably the name of the first bastard who left you. Sure, I get it now."

"Kaien was real!" she shouted at him. She could take hits at her with no comment; but when it came to Kaien, there was no mocking her past. "Don't just brush off my side of our conversations just because you're feeling wounded, damn you! He was real! He did all the things to me I told you! You think I would've wanted the first century of my life under the thumb of fucking Kaien?"

How had this exchange of hurtful words grown into something so huge and ugly, a thing so determined to destroy him as well as her?

"Don't even talk to me about your life, Rukia! It's all a fucking fake, just like you," Ichigo said as his head turned back forward. He almost took a step forward, and Rukia heard something that shattered her completely. A small,quiet whisper.

"I really did trust you…"

And he inhaled his breath and let it out in way that sounded almost like he was…

In that moment, her eyes welled up, and even as her heart screamed for her logical mind to take over, Rukia found herself embracing him from behind, his stiff back against her chest, and mute tears disappearing into his dark shirt.

"Ichigo…" she whispered, a salty tear falling into the corner of her mouth.

He was quiet. "…Rukia?"

"Ichigo, please, I…you don't understand…" This was all going so very horribly. It had been fine before, cruel and vindictive, but still fine…he would have walked away from this night and hated her, and that was the way it was supposed to be. But instead…

She turned him around and reached up to his cheek.

Why was _she_ the one breaking, when it was supposed to have been the other way around…?

"Ichigo…you don't understand…I had to push you away…"

Oh god…no.

"…I can never see you again…"

He was silent, but it was encouraging silence. "…why?" he said, in a voice just a decibel above hers.

"…because…"

Why couldn't she stop crying?

"…because I…I love you." Rukia looked up at him, the tears misting her vision so that she couldn't read the expression in his eyes well. "…do you see, Ichigo? This is why I can't stay with you…we were never…no vampire and hunter were ever meant to be this way."

"…Rukia…you…you love…" She could hear the disbelief in his voice, probably from her unexpected words and from the level of confession she had chosen to say to him.

"So now you get it," she said, her voice subdued. "I can't stay with you any more. I love you, Ichigo. Can you imagine what they'd ever do to you if they found out you were fraternizing with a vampire?" She was babbling, trying to make this into more of an excuse for his feelings than her own. "Anyway Ichigo don't ever call me again, don't come near me, don't look for me, don't even talk to me! Because I won't talk to you, and it's all for the best, you know it–"

Ichigo suddenly pulled her into a strong embrace. "Rukia, shut up! I–"

"No!" she yelled, pushing herself out of his arms forcefully. "I won't listen to what you have to say Ichigo, because yes I already know you don't feel the same and this was all just for f – fun! But now you know how I feel so that's fine. It's all right. Just don't ever speak to me again! Don't come to my apartment with that damn skeleton key of yours. Just forget you ever knew me and we'll both be better off!"

Backing away from him , she started to run down the street, trying to ignore the fact that Ichigo was following her and trying to instead concentrate on her aura.

"Rukia, wait! Fucking hell, stop running! I want to–"

_Ignore him ignore him ignore him…_ Rukia chanted to herself, a sense of relief washing over her as her wings responded to her aura and unfolded. She was running at breakneck speed – almost at the level of shunpa – and lifted herself off the ground without another thought. It didn't matter who might be watching, or the fact that someone _could_ be…all that mattered was getting away from him.

That way, she'd never be hurt again.

* * *

**tsuzuku**


	16. Reality: pt III

Remember, "aishiteru" is generally a more serious and deeper way of saying "I love you," than the less formal "suki."  
The suffix "-dono" roughly translates to "Lord" and is one of the highest forms of respect possible to pay to a person.

This fic is rated R because of language, violence, and sensuality. If any of the aforementioned offends you, please do not read.

Review if you like. No flames, please.

* * *

**kaerichi  
Chapter 16**

* * *

She took no notice to their subtle glances at her face, most surprised to see her there unexpected. The other vampires were, most likely, wondering if she were expecting some hailed declaration of her return, but Rukia thought no such thing. Just because she was high up on the food chain didn't mean she was _that_ important, not by her standards.

"Hey, Rukia-chan."

"Hitsugaya," she nodded in his direction. "Good to see you still alive."

"Yeah, you too." His remark carried more weight than hers did, but she barely noticed. "What are you doing back here so early? I thought you asked for a couple of weeks free from duty."

"I did, but…" – _but if I didn't work my memories are going to drive me crazy_ – "…I just felt like getting back into things again."

"Good…that's good," he said, and she was surprised to see that he actually smiled as he said it. Hitsugaya was rarely, truly glad about anything, the least of which she had seen, and from him an actual smile was like a miracle: not very often in forthcoming.

Unnerved and touched just a bit, she replied, "Yeah…so, where's Renji?"

"Abarai? That idiot? I have no idea. Probably sulking in some corner because you haven't been back in a while."

"What was that, honored elder Hitsugaya?" a voice broke into their conversation. Renji came towards them, scowling, but even Rukia could see that he was visibly happier upon seeing her.

"Asshole, you're way late."

"It's only twenty after."

"A massacre occurs in half that time."

Rukia watched them argue and bicker between each other. It was funny, actually, because as Hitsugaya was a member of the elder council, Renji really didn't have the right to contest anything he said. But Hitsugaya was lax that way, and secretly Rukia thought he preferred being challenged than being submissively obeyed sometimes.

She watched them with a peculiar feeling. They were regular vampires, not like her at all…because they never had to go through anything of what she had, and they were turned in the regular way…Rukia's thoughts turned to her mother before she shook her head. _No_. She'd decided already. She wasn't going to wallow in anything depressing anymore.

"Rukia?"

"It's nothing…say, didn't I hear something about an assignment coming up soon?"

Hitsugaya and Renji exchanged glances. "Yeah."

"Well, what the hell are you two doing around here? Shouldn't you be working? Posting team appointments, scheduling weapons counseling, supervising aura management training...or some mediocre chore or other?" And she folded her arms and gave them her patented I'm-so-superior smirk (which she was able to, her rank being higher than either).

They looked at each other again.

"Rukia-chan, it's good to have you back."

* * *

Kurosaki Ichigo was not explicitly known for his brain capacity, not like that of Ishida's or even Ishida's girlfriend Orihime, but among the thirteen captains he was one of the most respected and most people thought it a given that he would, some day, assume captain position of the first unit division. All captains aspired for the prestige, and Ichigo was certainly well qualified. He had abnormally superb reflexes and stamina, a strong sense of justice, an excellent record (as far as why a hunter would hate vampires), and the aptitude for thinking through situations and getting out alive.

However, in the eyes of his unit members, even Ichigo had to admit to himself that he'd been demonstrating none of these characteristics over the past couple of days.

He'd been…distracted. There was no better term for it. People – other hunters – were stopping him all the time to ask him if he was all right, or if he thought he was sick he should go lie down. At first he had fiercely protested but soon grew tired of doing so.

The first time had been during relaxation time, when Ichigo had been in the hunter's den pouring himself some coffee. The coffee had overflowed the mug. It wasn't until someone sputtered out an exclamation did Ichigo notice, and had to spend a couple of minutes cleaning it up.

It wasn't like him to be so absent-minded, and Ichigo hated himself for knowing that he'd been thinking of Rukia, the last time he'd seen someone perform that same action.

The second time had been during a meeting. Ichigo was there with the other eight captains (five positions still had yet to be filled), and Yoruichi was talking about something with the same passion Rukia would have displayed on the subject. He'd looked down at his briefing paper, seeing her as clearly as if she was in front of him…her violet eyes, her perfect lashes, her fair face, her smooth, dark hair…

And then Ishida jammed the heel of his boot into Ichigo's foot.

As it was, the entire table was more surprised by his sudden cursing outburst than they were at his muted silence at Yoruichi's directed question to him.

And so it continued, a little string of unrelated instances in which Ichigo would space out for an undeterminable period of time. It was beginning to worry people, especially after one instance in which he had seen Ise Nanao execute a perfect gymnastic flip during training. It was exactly how Rukia moved, and exactly like how she would have done it. That caused him to forget all about his opponent's sword during a match (captains trained with real blades), which would have then taken a mighty chunk out of his forearm if Ishida hadn't been wise enough to stay his attack.

They thought maybe he was suffering from some self-directed anger in the vampire having escaped. It was well known that Ichigo hated failure above all else, so this reasoning made sense to them. In fact, Matsumoto did bring this up one day, but (remembering that she had a college degree in adult psychology) Ichigo quickly got out of there.

So, in the end, people were left with way more questions than answers. And though his daydreaming had cost them no lives yet, they didn't want it to be a possibility.

At least, this was what Yoruichi told Ichigo, in the gentlest voice possible for her. Only Ichigo could get over whatever inner demons were plaguing him. She, herself, didn't want to have to demote her "favorite" captain.

Ichigo was left frustrated, furious, and most of all, highly confused about why he was thinking about all of these things. He could never get Rukia out of his mind! It was _crazy_! The last time he had seen her would reply over and over in his head, and there was absolutely nothing he could do, it seemed, to make it stop…

_"I love you, Ichigo…do you see? That's why we can't keep going on with this…"_

_I don't know what to say, or if I'm too late already. Rukia, I want to talk to you. I really want to talk to you. I really want to see you…_

He shook his head, and vaguely realized he was a step away from walking into a wall.

* * *

"New mission, dangerous one," Yoruichi said, her body leaning over the table. "We need to strike fast now; the vampires know our base, and that never bodes well. We are aiming for the capture and/or assassination of this one vampire, whichever should come first." Her finger pointed down on a page in her manila folder.

Ichigo opened his folder. Ishida's eyes widened.

Of course, it was Rukia.

* * *

He missed her. He missed everything about her.

He even went to her apartment, even stayed there for two days, but she never appeared.

_Rukia, if I ever meet you in a battle…could I really kill you?_

He lay in her beautiful bed, watching the canopy, and feeling the sky darken from orange to black. But it was already time for him to go. He had another mission to run.

Standing up, he let out a breath that seemed to have been held for too long.

_Rukia…I want to see you._

* * *

"But we know the hunter's base right now! That puts us at a huge advantage!"

"Don't be so sure," Hitsugaya dismissed. "They've known where our base is for years, and they've never made a move on it. We may kill each other, rip each other's throats out, but it's understood that a base is always neutral ground. Don't you know the first rules of hunting etiquette, Abarai-kun?"

"Oh, shut the fuck up. Besides, we attacked their base! Doesn't that kind of tell them we weren't following the "hunting etiquette" rules?" Renji asked sarcastically, growling.

"Look, Abarai, that attack was for Rukia's sake. And they owed us one anyway, back from the 1700s when they attacked us to rescue their then-leader, Unohana Retsu. Ah, the 1700s…" Hitsugaya smirked, "I remember those times. Great, you know? None of this high-tech fire weapons, none of these bombs, no guns, no computers, just one sword between you and death. Our base was a castle, too!" He smirked, seemingly at a memory. "Just too bad Perry had to come along and ruin a perfect reign."

_Commodore Matthew Perry…I can't decide if that's good or bad he did come to Japan…_ Rukia thought silently, as she watched another war of the words between Renji and Hitsugaya.

And she was just about to intervene in their fight (after all, she wanted some peace and quiet) when suddenly a fellow vampire burst through the door. He was wearing a shadowed red cross over white garments, the color of their base's medics, and his panicked face lit up upon seeing her.

"Kuchiki Rukia-dono!" He ran forward. "You must come quickly, Kuchiki-dono, for we have received word of a surprise attack on the hunter's part, resulting in many casualties and injuries, and one of them is Urahara-dono!"

"What?" All three in the room stood up in unison, and Rukia grabbed the medic by the shoulders, shaking him like a rag doll. "Is Urahara dead or injured?"

"H – he's just injured, Kuchiki-dono," the medic garbled, "but his injuries are severe, and we think he might make it, but all the rest of the participating vampires are unsure of what to do now so we need your guidance, Kuchiki-dono!"

That's right…she remembered. If anything should happen to Urahara, she, as the holder of the first-seat of the leader division, would take his place…

Hitsugaya and Renji were exchanging glances again. She ignored them, brushing past all three and pulling the medic by the arm. "Quickly! Show me the way to Urahara and to the rest of the vampires. How many are dead, do you know?"

"Roughly 80, Kuchiki-dono."

They were running down the corridor, and they were eerily empty; all the activity was probably concentrated at the medical ward.

"Oh, and Kuchiki-dono…"

"What?" she shouted, too wrapped up in her thoughts to be polite.

"The survivors mentioned something about a captured hunter, before I left to find you," the man said as he panted to keep up with their speed. "I didn't hear much, but apparently this hunter refused to leave the battle, and he was the last one, and they said his hair was a strange color that couldn't make him Japanese…"

Her heart _froze_.

"Quickly!" she shouted, and doubled her speed; the medic was left in the dust as all three upped their speed to near that of shunpa.

The scene was chaotic. Medics were running around, most with bandages or ushering human workers around for those who needed blood to boost healing energy. Many who could still move were already thinking about revenge, about getting in that one last attack that had been missed before collapse; and still more were covering the faces of the unmoving.

Rukia rushed around, trying to take charge – there were more medics around Urahara than anything else, but he was deathly still and paler than usual. She noticed some of his blood was leaking over the edge of the table, and that made her queasy, hesitant to move closer.

All in all, it took an hour for his condition to stabilize and the eventual healing process to start. In that time, Rukia was waylaid by bloodthirsty vampires, roars of pain, commands (to her!) saying that they had to set plans for revenge.

She groaned aloud. No time for idle rest!

But finally, after everything had calmed down just a bit, and Urahara had once again regained consciousness, Rukia sat next to his side. The blood was still pooled around the bottom of the table, and consequently, around her feet. For someone who required blood as a life staple, Rukia found the deep red color and the unmistakable vampiric aura altogether horrid. But Urahara was watching her, so she hastened to speak.

"…hey. Good to see you still with the living – pun intended."

"Hello, Kuchiki-san," he said. Then, to the medics, "Leave us."

They did, and soon only two vampires were left in the room.

"…you look like absolute shit."

"Thank you for saying so. I do believe it."

"…"

"…why don't you get straight to the point, Kuchiki-san?"

He must have caught her perturbed look. "…about the…hunter that was captured…"

He stared at her for a while before turning his eyes to the ceiling. "It's the orange-haired hunter who captured you."

Suddenly she stopped breathing.

"I must admit, he put up quite the valiant fight, and all the while he was looking around for something that I don't quite understand," Urahara said, and turned his face to her. But now she was looking away from him, fearing that he would see the answer to that question if their eyes connected. "However, it was that distraction that cost him…I do believe it was Abarai-kun who landed the stunning blow, right across the head. All the other hunters had already retreated upon his order, but only he remained, and was caught."

Ichigo was here…he was _here_, in the vampire's base, and Rukia was certain that Ichigo had been looking for her during that fight. She swallowed. He was so close, only now their positions were reversed…and vampires had gained their reputation for cruelty by what had been done with captured hunters…

Rukia would have felt ill, were that possible.

Urahara continued speaking, "I don't know what will happen to him, Kuchiki-san, but I know Abarai-kun and Histugaya-kun both have it in mind for him to be put to death." His eyes caught her wide ones. "You know how they both feel about you, Kuchiki-san, as far as close friendship goes. They think he's hurt you. And if they manage to convince two other elders and two others of the leader council that he should die…then you know even I won't be able to save him."

"Oh…oh…what…I…" Then, like a bolt of lightning, it struck. "Wait a minute, Urahara-san, you're talking about Ichigo as if I _want_ him to be saved. What makes you think – "

" – that you don't want him to die?" Urahara chuckled softly. "Kuchiki-san, I won't delude myself in thinking that I know you inside and out, but I think that I know you enough to see that you do not want this hunter killed. The same way I'm sure he protected you. You _were_ one to follow your life debts very closely, no?"

"U – Urahara-san, you…"

"And his name is Ichigo, is it? Well, I won't tell anyone. And for your sake, I sincerely hope that he won't be killed, and that Zaraki Kenpachi-san won't add any of his…creative input. For you, Kuchiki-san. I don't want to see you have to suffer."

She blushed. "U – Urahara-san…"

"Go on. Go see him. He's in cell A10."

"…thank you, Urahara-san…thank you…" That was all she could say, before she turned around to walk out of the room.

"Oh, and Kuchiki-san, one more thing."

She turned around.

"Does the fact that he greatly resembles Shiba Kaien still bother you?"

The question was unexpected; she flinched without meaning to. He noticed.

"I…" she paused. "It used to…I used to see him that way, and then it kind of stopped, and…no. I suppose that I would have to say no."

Urahara was quiet, and when she looked up, he was staring at the ceiling again. "That's good, Kuchiki-san."

She wondered if she should go or stay, but he answered that.

"Oh, go on! Please, don't let me keep you, Kuchiki-san."

"…"

With another glance at him, she left.

* * *

The perfect quintessence of the tortured prisoner's cell could be exemplified by their holding jail, precisely the reason why Rukia hated going down there. It was dark and damp, being well underground, and since it was only for prisoners there was no electrical light and water continually leaked somewhere. The walls were paved with rough stone, the torches on the wall casting eerie flickering light – and aside from a row of jail cells stretching down one side, it was bare without decoration. The only thing missing were skeletons hanging off the walls.

It was easy to find cell A10. It had the thickest bars with the thinnest spacing; it was like a grid, the squares between the horizontal and vertical bars were that small. Diffusing some of her aura into the lock, it opened immediately.

"…Ichigo?"

The cell was deep; the torch's flame didn't extend quite so far, and it was only by her enhanced vision did she see him.

"Rukia?" His hoarse voice surprised her…and then she saw him.

He was chained to the wall with thick arm cuffs down at his side. His legs were chained together, and the entire stance prevented him from sitting, so that he had to sag in his chains if he wanted to rest his legs.

But what shocked her the most was the state of his appearance. His clothes were ripped in places, there was dried blood on his face and arms, and she saw that he was favoring one leg.

He must have seen her face, because he let out a dry chuckle. "Don't worry, it's not as bad as it looks. Fucking red-headed friend of yours split my head open, and the arms are nothing. I just…think that my leg's fractured, and my right forefinger's broken."

"…Ichigo…" She just stood there, his words somehow so distant from her, like she was hearing them from far away. But all the same, she was comforted by them. She came forward hesitantly, as though he would disappear any minute, and the fingers that touched him were light at first.

"What? I'm not made of glass, y'know."

"It's…just…shut up," she said thickly. "I…" She searched for something to say. "I…I'll heal your injuries."

And she did so, healing up his fractured right leg and broken right forefinger, along with all the minor cuts over the rest of her body. After the glow from her hands had faded, she looked up at him. Having moved next to his body to heal him, their clothes were barely brushing each other, and she could feel the heat from his body at her own. Suddenly she so much more aware of how _close_ they really were. His breaths ghosted over her forehead, and she heard his mouth part, and that was it.

She wrapped her arms around his neck, since she couldn't around his waist, and leaned in to him. The blood didn't matter, the place didn't matter. In fact, nothing mattered anymore. More than anything, she wished that his arms could be free to wrap around her. But that was impossible. Only Urahara had the key to the chains.

"Ichigo…I missed you, Ichigo…"

"I know." She felt his lips curve in her hair. "I missed you too."

This was all she'd wanted over the past couple of days. And now that she had it, it was just so incomparable.

"And, you know something, Rukia?"

"What?" She was glad the torch was so far from the cell. The dark made this more private, much more surreal, when her strongest sense of sight was diluted and she had to rely on the more intimate ones.

"You ran away from me so fast, the last time, so I never got to tell this to you."

"…Ichigo?"

"Heh…" he smiled ruefully. "I love you."

Rukia's eyes softened. He'd returned her feelings with the same level of confession that she had given to him. She pressed herself against his chest, clutching the front of his shirt. Somehow it had been expected all along.

"I…"

"You don't have to say anything."

"No, it's just…" Suddenly she was overcome by a desire to tell him this. "They might have you killed, you know! I don't know anything about it, but…"

"It's fine…don't worry, this is gonna be okay."

"How can you say that? Do you realize you're in our base now? We won't have to study you to see if you're special, and the council might not care about keeping you alive! They might kill you, really, Ichigo!"

"You're worrying too much about it," he said. "I learned not to do that. When a person weighs their options, they choose safety over risk. Then they end up with a half-lived life. I've never wanted that. If this is where I've ended up, then this is where I've ended up, you know?"

"You can say that, Ichigo, but death is forever. Eternal. You can't take it back."

"Yeah, with a few hundred thousand exceptions," he said wryly, in reference to her kind.

She looked up at him then, and all the weight of the past days disappeared from her shoulders the instant their eyes connected. His eyes were not looking at her, they were looking _through_ her, revealing all her secrets and fears, supporting her courage, and once again drawing his presence so sharply to her that it was a miracle she could remember her own name.

Reaching up with her face, standing on the balls of her feet, her lips came to him slow and deep. Innocence was gone from their kiss; it was only fierce ardor, and want, and some inscrutable emotion so thoroughly buried that neither recognized it for what it was:

Need.

"I have to go…" she breathed against his lips. "Ichigo…they're expecting me, because our leader was injured…I only came down here to see you."

"…go then." He said that, but she could see something painful glimmering in his eyes, even without the light.

With many regretful looks behind, and holding onto him until at last she was too far out of reach, Rukia left the cell. "I'll try to come back as soon as I can, Ichigo, and maybe bring you some food if they don't feed you…"

He snorted. "Just go, do what you have to do, and don't worry about me."

"I…" She paused at the look on his face. "Fine. I'll try to come back soon."

And closing the door behind her, she left the dungeon quietly. Elation upon reunion was a very unusual emotion, Rukia decided, as she ascended the steps leading back into the main building of their headquarters. On one hand, it was beating at her chest, like a fluttering songbird struggling to escape a net that bound its freedom, its passion for life…

On the other hand, there was nothing. The endless dark of her fears was more than enough to scare the bird into silence.

* * *

**tsuzuku**


	17. Do What I Must

Thanks to everyone for being so patient, and especially thanks to all my reviewers - I do love all of your comments :-) On just a slightly annoying note, I'm working and attending school a lot now, so I'm trying to keep up with a reasonable update time. Thanks for all your patience. And jwchiu, this chapter's for you! miow :-3

This fic is rated R because of language, violence, and sensuality. If any of the aforementioned offends you, please do not read.

Review if you like. No flames, please.

* * *

**kaerichi  
Chapter 17**

* * *

"Ichigo, I…I'm afraid."

With that whispered confession, Ichigo knew indeed that something was horribly wrong. Rukia was always strong-willed; she could hardly admit to being afraid or showing weakness without regretting it later. And even then, he hesitated to wonder at what kind of conflict would make her say these words to him.

"Of what?"

"Your trial is coming up…in an hour. You won't be there, like in human trials – they just hand you the verdict. Ichigo, no hunter's ever survived a council verdict, and especially when Renji and Hitsugaya are both against you…they want you to die."

"Who's Renji and Hitsugaya?"

"They're my friends. And stop changing the subject."

"Why? All you're doing is worrying yourself needlessly."

"Needlessly? Ichigo, they're going to kill you!"

"So certain already, eh?"

"No, I meant, it's…" she paused, pressing up against his warmth closer. "I'm of the leader division and I hold the first-seat, meaning, technically, I'm the second most powerful vampire in Japan. But each division, leader and elder, has five seats. If there are three or more of each division that agree to have you put to death, neither I nor Urahara-san will be able to do anything about it!" she finished in a whisper.

"Rukia, calm down."

"Ichigo, you're going to _die_!"

"Gee, I never knew you could be so obsessive about something."

"Ichigo, stop playing around! It's not like I'm doing this for my own health!"

"Rukia, I know, all right? I appreciate your worry about me, but it's doing nothing right now, least of all good. When the order comes down from your council I'll just take it like I've taken everything in life. And if I die…well, I die."

"But don't you want to _live_? You were the one who told me yourself that you wanted to live and be a hunter!"

"I do want to live. I mean, if I see an escape route out of here, I won't hesitate in taking it. But I've done everything I wanted in life. I never had any real big goals other than killing the vampire that killed my mom, not like other people who want the money, the family, the fame. My dad and sisters can live without me."

"But Ichigo, that isn't the point! The whole point is about not dying so that you can continue to see them! Sure, they might be able to live if you were gone, but…"

Damn. Rukia was trying to stop herself from becoming overly emotional.

"_…but what will I do?_"

A breathless whisper.

Ichigo was silent for a moment, but then his head drifted down so that his forehead was almost to hers, closing his eyes. He wanted to will all his self-control to Rukia in that one moment, because she was strong…but in the moments she crumbled, she didn't go alone.

He was amazed that in the short time he'd known her, Rukia could still bring forth all these various emotions in her, and in him. Being emotional and protective, caring about others, and being in love…realizing these things was what had made him recognize that Rukia made him more _human_ than anything else could in the world. No one else had ever done that, not even his family.

That was why he not only loved her, he was grateful. Sincerely.

His life up until then had been a tireless existence of destruction, of a single-minded drive to execute all vampires he knew – for it had been the vampires who had taken his most precious person from him. The day his mother was murdered was the end of innocence and his carefree childhood. Twisted and bitter Ichigo's teenage growth had been then, latched around the bubble of his remaining family and hostile to any invading approach.

But then along came Rukia, and she had shown him a truth greater and more desperate than the life that had seemed so unfulfilling to him. For the first time, it was _her_ truth to spawn _his_ emotion. It didn't even have to deal with the truth of her past, but just the truth and belief of her _existence_ in the physical world. The emotion first spawned had been anger, then pity, then camaraderie, and then eventually blossomed to what it was at that day.

Rukia, in every possible way, had made him live.

And he didn't regret a moment of it. This was why he no longer felt afraid of dying, or afraid that he would have never accomplished anything if he did die. Because all the events in his life led up to this, and if it was meant to end this way, he would welcome it.

Maybe if he survived this he'd tell her, someday; the thought made him smile ruefully.

"Rukia?"

"…hm?"

"…you don't think that it's all worth it. If you're planning some kind of rescue attempt, I can tell you right now it won't work. My friends aren't like yours, who will rescue me because they feel obliged or just because they like me a lot. I'm going to die. I know it, and I know you know it too. It's part of the risk I understood when I was installed as captain of my unit, back at the hunter's base."

"But Ichigo – "

"No buts, Rukia."

"Ichigo!"

"Rukia, look at me." Once again, he put his forehead to hers, tilting her head slightly back so that she had to look in his eyes. She blinked, and he could see the barely restrained panic behind her lovely eyes.

"Rukia, it isn't worth it. Don't think that I'm worth it. What you have right now – your friends and your rank, and the respect of all the other vampires, and the peace you've finally managed to achieve after that bastard Kaien – you can't throw it away. I'm not worth it, Rukia, not matter what you might tell me."

"Ichigo–"

"Tell me, Rukia, what would happen if you sided with me?" Ichigo asked.

"Ichigo…I…"

"Think about it."

She did, and her eyes drifted away from his.

"Look at me, Rukia."

"…"

"I'm sure you can imagine it. You'd be ousted as a traitor, and they'd probably equate you with hunters, and then you'd have to spend the rest of your eternal life running from the people who you once considered your friends. And then one day you'll fight back, either out of desperation or need. And then you'll kill someone you really care about. And then you'll regret it so much nothing will compare to that pain. And when I die of old age, what will you have left then?"

She opened her mouth once, and then closed it. "I…"

"…do you finally see?"

"Ichigo…"

"You know I'm right. No matter what you say, you know I'm right."

Putting her head to his chest then, she waited in silence, and he could hear the beat of his heart along with the noticeably absent one of hers. However, just her warmth and skin on his was enough to reassure him that she was actually there, and that she was real.

"…the trial's going to start in half an hour," she finally whispered.

"You should go."

"I know, but…I just think that the next time I come here, it's going to be to say that you're going to die. I don't like that, Ichigo."

"It's all right. I'm tough," he said, giving her a cocky grin.

And she smiled at him in a way that he knew doom was just around the corner.

He didn't want her to die.

"Just remember, Rukia," he said to her as she left the cell, "I'm not worth it. Don't do anything stupid, okay?"

She said nothing.

"Rukia!"

"All right…I won't," she said softly, as the door slammed shut once again. Ichigo tried to listen to the sound of her footsteps as long as he could, but when they had disappeared, he sagged in his chains as the torch flickered its cruel shadows.

_Rukia, I don't want you to suffer…_

* * *

It was hours and hours later, perhaps four, Ichigo surmised, when he finally heard steps coming back down to meet him. His watch was broken beyond repair, but being a hunter for so many years had made him attuned to the passing of time.

But these steps were not soft and slow; rather, they were pounding harshly against the stone floor, sounding as if the person was running, and Ichigo was not surprised to see Rukia coming running to his cell looking absolutely distraught. She came right against him to lean against his warmth.

"Ichigo…they…they…"

"I'm going to die, aren't I?" he asked quietly, without a hint of surprise.

"I couldn't say anything! I didn't even say anything, and Hitsugaya and Kenpachi and Komamura and especially Renji…and…I can't remember them all, but they were all against you, and so Urahara-san had to agree to execute you!" Her fingers curled in his ripped jacket. "Ichigo…I couldn't even say anything…!"

"It's all right, Rukia…it's fine."

"Ichigo, how can you say that? I told you I didn't want you to die!"

"Yeah, and I told _you_ that I'm not worth it. I'm human. I'm aging. I'll die in another fifty or so years anyway, Rukia. But you have the capacity to live a thousand times that, and even more. Look, just don't do anything stupid for my sake, all right? I'm fine. I'm going to die. I accepted it already."

She was quiet for a while, and then spoke up again. "And…they…" she took a breath, "they said that they were going to film it."

"Film? Do they always do that for the hunters they execute?" Ichigo asked sarcastically.

"No…it's supposed to be shown live to the hunters in your base…" Rukia whispered. "It was Renji's idea, because it's going to show that you should never mess around with a leader vampire…he said an eye for an eye, but I didn't see the connection." Her face turned in towards his chest. "Ichigo, two days. That's all they're giving you. _Two days_."

He was silent. It was actually better to say nothing, because Rukia was becoming undone faster than anything he had ever seen. In truth, the prospect of dying didn't bother him so much as it should have, but he worried about Rukia, his vampire.

_Ichigowas on his last mission, the infiltration of a frequented vampire bar in order to fulfill the latest mission: the capture or assassination of vampire Kuchiki Rukia. He had not wanted to lead this particular mission, but he had no choice._

_Therefore, when the fighting broke out, Ichigo was relieved. This was something he could understand, and if he did meet with Rukia, he just wouldn't challenge her and she could run away to safety – if she was indeed there at all._

_All around him, people were moving, fighting…in some cases, dying. But he couldn't process everything at once. He was looking around for Rukia. If someone killed her while he wasn't watching…then he'd kill them. Hunter or no._

_However, he was unprepared for the sudden punch that came his way; it was only by his sheer superb reflexes that he managed to dodge it only millimeters from his left cheek. Some of the force of the offensive aura cut his cheek, a thin line of blood spilling._

_"Found you, bastard," a relatively recognizable voice said._

_It was Rukia's red-head friend, the one who had been there that day when they saved her from the hunter's base. He was currently holding a smashed liquor bottle in his left hand, the other clenched while a visible aura cut over it in waves._

_Ichigo smirked, as was customary for him to do. "Au contraire, mon frere, I think that it's me who found you, wouldn't you say so?" And with these words, he attacked the man in front of him, drawing his sword for the first time that night._

_They battled for a while, moving past the stage of just a minor scuffle, and it seemed they were equally matched. Neither won out over the other, but, just as he was beginning to gain the upper hand, he saw the white-haired vampire out of the corner of his eye._

_"No Rukia don't!" the white-haired vampire yelled, eyes set on the other side of the room, and Ichigo's head whipped that way. Rukia was there?_

_But he saw no one, only more people fighting, and in an instant all the panic alarms went off in his head as Ichigo realized, dimly, that he'd been tricked, and that he'd blatantly ignored the first rule of combat by letting his eyes stray from his opponent…_

_And then that blunt force smashed across the top of his head, and all the world had gone blurry. It was so sudden that there was no pain. And even though Ichigo knew the red-head had landed the paralyzing blow, his eyes continued to search for Rukia, as if by doing so she would materialize there in front of his eyes…_

_Then the world dissolved into black, and the pain only returned as he awoke._

"Just don't think about it anymore…" he said, brushing her face with his nose, and knowing that nothing he said would it whisk it away. Human hearts – and apparently, vampire hearts – didn't heal so easy after just being crushed.

"Ichigo–"

"Quiet," he interrupted, leaning down as his face came even closer to hers. The brushing of their lips was light, very unlike their regular kisses, and Ichigo pulled back a little to look her in the face. Rukia always looked so very beautiful like this, her eyes closed and unworried, lips still just a little parted and with a smile hinting at the corner.

And even as their lips met again, his hands strained against their bonds in his wish that he could just wrap them around her until all the worry and fear in him was squeezed out, until she filled his blood with the relief only she could provide.

But the touch of her mouth against his was paramount beyond anything else, and she pressed herself against him and he forgot everything, because nothing else mattered when she was by his side. And if he couldn't have forever, then he'd settle for just the now.

Rukia tried to break off their kiss, whispering his name, but he wouldn't allow that.

* * *

The entire hall was abuzz before Shihouin Yoruichi and Ichimaru Gin walked into the room, and even then the noise descended into a low murmur. Normally their presence would have been reason for complete and instant silence, but the rumors flying around had squashed that pretense.

"Quiet, quiet!" Yoruichi said. She got up on the dining table to see the crowd better; Ichimaru only climbed up onto a chair. "All right, to begin with, I'm sure you all know why we are here on this particular day, and I feel that it is my duty to begin rumor control before all this whispering and gossiping gets out of hand."

Her eyes hardened. "What you have heard is all true, to one extent. Kurosaki Ichigo, captain of the second unit division, has been sentenced to be executed by the vampire's council."

Here she grew silent as voices of outrage filled the quiet. Only after everyone was relatively calm again did Yoruichi continue to speak. "The second thing of which is true is that they will be showing this to us live as Kurosaki-taichou's execution is being carried out. Apparently, this is a warning. A threat. To anyone who should interfere with the vampires, they shall suffer the same fate."

She paused. "In my life as of yet, I have lived to witness two firsts in this war between vampires and hunters. First of all, there were the meetings, which might have been the first step to peace between us. However, the vampires betrayed the truce. The second of the firsts is this public execution display. I must admit that the idea rankles, especially at the thought of losing one of our finest and most dedicated captains." Her mouth drew into a thin line as she said this.

"There were no instructions given on to whom the execution is to be shown to. Therefore, if you wish, I am making it available to all to watch. Kurosaki-taichou is sure to welcome his death as any honorable captain should, and his sacrifice for this war will make him the martyr that all should aspire to fight for.

"Upon this day, you will see the true nature of vampires," Yoruichi said, and her amber eyes darkened. "Upon this day, but a day from now, at 18:00 sharp, you shall all be witness to the demise of a captain who was good, and great, all because he fell to the hands of soulless savages with no claim to humanity."

She paused again, and her eyes swept the crowd. With some interest, she noted that Ishida Uryuu and Inoue Orihime had different faces from the rest – the rest were furious, plans of revenge readable on their faces, but theirs were just plain shock. And if she didn't know any better, they seemed almost anxious.

But that was nonsense. It was time for the closure to her speech.

"…and so, I implore you all in this room, remember Kurosaki Ichigo for the man that he was, and how he is dying so very far before his time. Respect him, honor him, and speak no ill of the damned. Tomorrow, should any of you wish to watch…the large screen shall be set up here, in the dining hall."

And with that demoralizing end, she left the table to walk out of the hall without another word. Ichimaru caught up with her, the smirk on his face only slightly lessened by the recent events.

"So sorry, Shihouin-san, about what's happening now," he said, and she wanted to slap him. "I know what Kurosaki-kun meant to you, and to have him executed right in front of your eyes…"

She swallowed the bile in her throat. "Thank you very much for your comfort, Ichimaru-san, but there are things I must attend to." And before hostile words could escape her, she left, feeling his wide smile boring into her back.

Only when she was alone in her room did her stoic façade crack in just the slightest…it was the only place she would allow for such moments of temporary insanity. Her hands started to shake just slightly.

"Ichigo, you idiot, you damn arrogant bastard, how many times did I tell you not to get caught…" she said softly, clenching her fists. "And why didn't _you do anything_? Why don't _you do_ _something_? You know you still can do something about this…" She inhaled tremulously. "And now, even if I want to talk to you, I just can't..."

Sagging onto her bed, the mattress making no noise as it fit her weight, Shihouin Yoruichi sat there in the brooding darkness for a very long time.

* * *

The day – or night, rather – arrived with an air of anticipation floating around the vampire base. Only Rukia was nowhere to be found, up on the top floor of their building and wondering if this was really happening.

Most unfortunately, it was. Noon approached, then afternoon, then evening…and then she had to go put on her robe to be present for the execution "in her honor," and she did it with a mindless sense of automatism that propelled her through the day…

She couldn't go down to see Ichigo. She couldn't.

And yet, as she filed into the room designated for the execution, the semi-circle of surrounding vampires suddenly looked more foreboding than she had ever seen them. A camera was set up right in the middle of the semi-circle, diving the line into quarters. A red light alerted her to the fact that it was already recording.

And then Ichigo came in. He was blindfolded and handcuffed, and he was walking relatively easily for someone having not moved for a few days. It wasn't possible for him to see her, and yet, as he passed to the middle of the semi-circle, Rukia could have sworn that his eyes turned to her for a fraction of an instant.

His eyes seemed to stare at her even as he was tied to a post and the blindfold removed. As soon as it was, it was as if there had never been a barrier between their eyes at all; nothing had stopped their connection.

Rukia was right next to the camera, and bit her lip.

Ichigo was going to die. There was nothing she could do about it. Ichigo was going to _die_, and there was _nothing_ she could do about it.

Suddenly, the words of her old Master floated through her head.

_"What do you mean, nothing can be done? Anything that's a fuckin' problem always has a solution. It doesn't matter who has to give or what has to be given; everything has a solution. Don't just sit there like a useless bitch!"_

Those were the words that had once disturbed her to a breaking point. She didn't like that she could remember every word and line with clarity. However, now it did not bother her as much as they had before. In fact, she remembered the images associated with those words with a sort of distant reality, as if the actions themselves had never happened at all.

But _this_ was the reality. Ichigo was going to die.

The only man who had made her live again was going to trade his life for hers.

"Hunter, you are to be executed for transgressions against the vampire Kuchiki Rukia, of the leader division, first-seat, and to all those watching you should be well aware that…"

_Ichigo is going to die._

"…and in this manner, it will be through the heart…"

_Ichigo is going to _die.

"…by the grace of Kuchiki-dono, has asked for painless execution, and as such…"

_Ichigo is going to die!_

"…lesson, to all you hunters watching, that this is what will happen to all others who dare to capture and imprison one of Japan's best." Of course, Zaraki Kenpachi had volunteered the executioner position. He'd seemed vehemently against instant execution, but had to give in at her insistence. Therefore, he now hefted onto his hand a large wooden stake, in blatant irony of vampire hunting's previous beginnings.

His hand lifted…

Rukia watched the arc as her eyes suddenly went blank, feeling faint.

_The person I love is going to be **executed** and what am I **doing**?_

The hand swung down and her world blurred.

* * *

**tsuzuku**


	18. Shiba Kaien?

crimsonsun37: I'm so sorry that I forgot to address this in the previous chapter! "kaerichi" is the the name for the blood that comes from a wound - the wound of a victim, not a wound as in accidentally cutting yourself. And the vampire hierarchy works this way: there are two divisions, leader and elder, compromised of five seats each, along with the main seat, which is higher than both divisions. For you Americans out there, think of the main seat as being the presidency, and the elder and leader divisions as the Senate and House of Representatives. Elders are there merely for the long-standing tradition that elders are wise, having lived so long. The leader division has greater authority, though, over the elder division, but the system (as Rukia explained) still has checks and balances so that no one group (main seat, elder, or leader) can monopolize all of the power. Of the leader division, the higher your seat number (1 -5; 1 highest), the more power you have. Kaien was leader division first-seat, meaning he was, technically, second best only to the main seat holder. And when Kaien was defeated by Rukia, she took his place.

Whew. Hope that was understandable.

This fic is rated R because of language, violence, and sensuality. If any of the aforementioned offends you, please do not read.

Review if you like. No flames, please.

* * *

**kaerichi  
****Chapter 18**

**

* * *

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The world blurred and for all the shunpa she was capable of, Rukia thought for one life-defying instant that she wouldn't make it in time.

"No, _stop_!"

She leapt in front of Ichigo just as the stake swung down; with her aura covering her hand, she struck the stake away so hard that it burst into wooden slivers. And then she was suddenly aware of all eyes on hers, and of Ichigo's sudden whispering in her ear.

"Rukia, don't do it…Rukia, are you listening to me? _Don't do it!_" he hissed, as she backed up a step until their bodies were practically touching. "Rukia, I'm not worth it, remember? _Don't do it!_"

Even Kenpachi had backed away at the shock. And it was subtle, but there was a hint of offense in the auras she felt now permeating the room.

"…Kuchiki-san, what are you doing?" Urahara asked in his calm voice, though, from under his hat, his eyes looked slightly menacing.

Coming forward, the sound of his wooden sandals was loud in the deathly silence, against the spotless floor.

Rukia backed away another step until their bodies _were_ touching. Her face turned to the side briefly, feeling his breath mingling with hers, before her courage had enough power to continue on.

It was now or never. And never was a long time. Her tongue licked the lips that had gone dry, and one of her hands grasped the fabric of Ichigo's pants.

"I…" Her voice was soft. "Urahara-san, Zaraki-san, Abarai-san, Hitsugaya-san…to all of you, and to those I did not mention…I won't let you kill this hunter." Fingers grasping his pants harder than ever, she continued, "I…can't."

"Why can't you, Kuchiki-san?"

"That's because…"

"_Rukia don't do it…_"

"That because I care about this hunter," she said. It was actually easier than she thought it would be. "I love him."

There. It was out.

She might have laughed at Renji and Hitsugaya's faces if she hadn't been feeling so stricken by Urahara's at that one moment. His cane was shaking as an extension of his hand, and both of his eyes were now lifted from the darkness of his hat.

There was only so much of guilt that someone could take when looking in Urahara's eyes. So, Rukia turned away, using a part of her offensive aura to cut Ichigo's bonds that tied him to the post. Unexpectedly, he embraced her, and she stood there for a moment while all the relief and comfort from his touch seeped into her bones.

"Ichigo…don't say anything," she said. "I've done what I've done."

"Rukia, you idiot, you stupid, stupid idiot…"

"Kuchiki Rukia, you do realize that siding with this hunter means that you will be labeled a traitor," Urahara said. His once mellow eyes had turned to steel.

She nodded, turning around in Ichigo's embrace, even though his saying the words hurt more than just thinking them.

"And you do realize that we will have an obligation to take up arms against a traitor."

She nodded.

"And you do realize that we will hunt you and this hunter, should you even think of escaping."

She nodded, and Ichigo's arms tightened around her.

"And the fact that he resembles Shiba Kaien no longer bothers you?"

There, that question again. "No, it doesn't bother me." And it was true. But he seemed to be asking her that an awful lot, wasn't he?

"Are you _sure_ it doesn't bother you?"

And suddenly, Rukia noticed, Hitsugaya turned to Urahara. His hand reached out, slowly, almost as if in an action to hold the taller man back. "Urahara-san…you don't mean that you are going to…"

"You are against this, Hitsugaya-kun?"

He looked stricken. "But Rukia…"

"Who knows," Urahara shrugged lightly, "maybe it'll stop her from leaving."

Rukia had no idea what either of them were talking about, but she was sure that nothing would stop her from leaving this base.

She would get Ichigo out. That had been one of her thoughts as she had used her shunpa to deflect Kenpachi's blow – the thought that she would rather die for him than he for her. And that thought was no weaker now than it was then.

She was going to get him out, no matter what.

"Kuchiki-san, I am sure you remember your old benefactor Shiba Kaien, am I correct?" Urahara said, turning away from Hitsugaya to face her and Ichigo again. He took a step forward, causing her to take an involuntary one back, pressing further into Ichigo. However, at the mention of her old Master, Rukia's eyes hardened.

"He was one impossible to forget," she replied truthfully, voice icy.

"And yet you managed to forget the fact that this orange-haired hunter greatly resembles him, disregarding the fact that he _is_ a hunter and that any form of communication between you is already liable for punishment by execution."

"I knew that."

"And yet," he said, one eye peering at her, "I wonder if you would do the same, Kuchiki-san, if you knew just how much of Kaien he _really_ was."

Suddenly, there was this feeling that Rukia couldn't shake, the fact that Urahara had another ace up his sleeve that he was planning on pulling out right now… "What do you mean, Urahara-san?"

"I'm sure you remember your battle with him that earned you the position of leader division, first-seat," said Urahara. "You escaped his burning house, and you thought that you had killed him.

"However, vampires with a high level of proficiency in aura movement – as one might expect of the leader division's first-seat holder – also have the ability to move their souls. It is a difficult process, but one not entirely unachievable. In any case, as he lay dying, Shiba Kaien utilized this ability to transport his soul to a different body."

It slowly dawned…realization and the horror of it…

"Can you guess where his soul ended up, Kuchiki Rukia-san?"

She turned around in Ichigo's embrace suddenly, looking into his eyes with something akin to dread on her face. And he was looking at her with something of the same. There was no way that he could be…

"Resemblance in physicality can sometimes mean a resemblance of souls, and therefore, Shiba Kaien found this hunter and entered his body. Normally, when this happens, this hunter's soul would "die" from being forced out, and Shiba Kaien would have taken over the body."

He paused, to let his words sink in. Rukia hated him for it.

"But that didn't quite happen. For reasons unknown, Shiba Kaien's soul was unable to take over this hunter's one, and instead, the boy's dominated his, allowing them to merge." He paused, looking at both their faces. Rukia pulled away and Ichigo let her. His hand slowly came up to his heart.

"Why do you think he has such good reflexes? Why do you think he has such a high healing rate? Why do you think he can defeat rank-level vampires with his bare hands, while other hunters must use tools as weapons? Have you never thought of this, Kuchiki Rukia-san?"

She _had_ thought of it before, but then just assumed he was blessed with special abilities for a human…that it was that innate special ability that all humans have, be it whatever it may. Never in her nightmares had she been faced with a reality like _this_…

"So now that you know the truth, Kuchiki-san, what will you do? Do you still harbor a wish to protect this man?" Urahara asked softly, and his voice stressed the last word a little. His eyes never left her face. "Because you know he is Shiba Kaien, do you still want to love him?"

Ichigo had Kaien's soul in him, just a little bit, but…how many days and nights had she ever suffered under Kaien? That bastard who used her just like she was _nothing_. The only being, human or vampire, that she had ever, really, truly, completely _hated_? How could Ichigo be him…?

Rukia shut her eyes.

This couldn't be happening.

This couldn't be happening! She could just see it happening now, the shadow of Kaien overtaking the features of Ichigo's, making her think of her former Master once again…he would take over again, and she would never be able to see Ichigo as Ichigo again, and…

Suddenly she stopped her train of thought.

That was because she suddenly realized she _had_ seen Ichigo as Kaien, so many times, and yet each time she was able to shake off the shadow. Maybe his physical resemblance hadn't been the only reason she'd seen Kaien in him…maybe it was because he also held part of her old Master's soul.

But whatever the case, Rukia had come to see Ichigo as Ichigo. Time and time again the shadow had fallen away to his light…each time the shadow had crept back, Ichigo had beat it away until all that remained was the image of him. Not Kaien.

And that was why, now, even as she looked at him anew, Rukia couldn't see Kaien. There was no shadow, no tracing over the hunter's features, no mismatching of Kaien's face over Ichigo's. Because there was just _Ichigo_, as she had come to know it, and as it had always been. The most horrible thing had been hearing the truth…but even that, so deep and ugly, could not bring forth any memory of Kaien's face upon someone who looked so similar…

She realized this, and joyous, bubbly laughter, the likes of which Rukia had never felt in decades, was on the tip of her tongue…like sweet things, like strawberries, like something that is to be savored but too wonderful to keep in.

And Urahara was asking her if she still wanted to protect the man she loved? He was thinking that he could turn her against Ichigo?

Rukia laughed.

That startled everyone in the room, most of all Urahara, seeing as to how his aura jumped up a couple of notches. Ichigo was still looking at her with trepidation in her eyes. After all, she _had_ stepped away from him, and he knew of how much she had hated Kaien.

However, to end all fears for good, Rukia stepped forward to embrace him again. "Ichigo…" she said softly, "don't even think for a second that you're Kaien. Because you aren't. You're Kurosaki Ichigo, the person you have been from the day you were born, and…" she smiled a little, "nothing is going to change between you and I."

That was a bit of an ambiguous statement, but Ichigo understood.

"I don't care who Ichigo is or who he resembles," she said, reluctantly leaving his arms so that she could face Urahara once again. "To me he is just who he is. And the fact that he is Kaien…it bothers me that Kaien was able to survive, if even for just a little longer, but the fact that he no longer lives does not bother me at all." Her eyes caught Urahara's, and they were challenging. "You can't scare me away. I know what I want to do, Urahara-san…and this is it."

There was a long, pregnant pause, and no one said a thing. Rukia was sure that they were all thinking the same thing: she must have been out of her mind. What was she thinking, protecting a hunter and turning traitor?

Well, she really wasn't thinking. Not at all. Maybe later, when this reality caught up to her, then she'd think about what was currently happening. But for now, this instance was just flashing in front of her with colored lights, and she was just following wherever they dictated.

"And so…Kuchiki Rukia-san…do you think to escape from here?" Urahara asked her softly.

"I do. And if I know you, Urahara, you'll at least allow us a few seconds head start, to make the chase a little more even." Rukia was not deluding herself with the image of Japan's leading vampire sparing her life or that of the hunter behind her; reality might have been evading her conscious, but it was not completely absent. "And after all, you owe it to Shiba Kaien. He may be in the soul of a hunter, but he is Shiba Kaien nonetheless, and you owe it to him to at least try to live."

"I owe Shiba Kaien nothing," Urahara said quietly. Then he seemed to cough lightly. "Are you ready to fight us, Kuchiki-san? To lay your life for one that is not your own?"

"I am."

"Don't rule out me either," Ichigo said. His voice was strong, and carried no hint of fear from the vampires currently crowding the room. Rukia was glad of it.

"Very well…" Urahara's voice was smooth and laced with deadly composure. "I shall give you ten seconds, Kuchiki Rukia-san. Ten seconds, beginning now."

For one precious second she just stared at him, wondering how things had taken such a fast turn…and then his words sunk in and Rukia whirled around, grabbing Ichigo's wrist as she went, pulling him out and trying to ignore murderous looks from the vampires who – just ten minutes ago – had all been on her side.

They ran down the corridor at their fastest speed, and Rukia tried to control her frantic impatience at his human slowness…the vampire speed he could've had was marred by his human blood. Getting out of this building was going to take some thinking, and she couldn't afford to think wrong.

The ten seconds passed in a blur, and then there was such a sudden flux of vampire aura that Rukia knew they were after them. She pulled Ichigo along until she was at the border of her shunpa, traveling at a blurring speed.

"Found them! They're down this way!"

She and Ichigo cursed simultaneously as they were found out, taking several more twists and turns. Ichigo just had to follow her; he didn't know the layout of their complicated building. She ducked through a door and they found themselves in what seemed to be a long rectangular room, red in color, with doors leading everywhere.

"Ichigo, look, we're never going to get anywhere unless we split up," Rukia said, moving her way along the doors, feeling them with her hands as if that would tell her something. "I know you don't know your way around this building, but you just have to trust me. Ichigo, do you trust me?"

"Rukia, don't ask stupid questions. What do I have to do?"

"Take this door," she said, indicating it, but not pulling it open. "It should open onto the corridor on the 13th floor, and from there, take the red door, go up exactly five flights, get out into the corridor and head straight forward to get to balcony. You'll be outside, and I want you to jump over that steel railing, and point your body straight down. Ichigo, don't even stop to think of where you're going or to doubt these instructions. Do you have them?"

"Red door, fifteen flights, straight forward to balcony, jump over. Got it," he said. "But Rukia, where are you going? You aren't going to do something–"

"The way I just gave you is the least conspicuous route, and you have to go that way because that's the only direction where no one will be able to recognize your human hunter aura. I have to go another route, and having you with me would make it harder."

He nodded.

"Now go, Ichigo! Go!"

He opened the door, and it led into a seemingly endless corridor with the walls painted a sordid black. He'd gone no further than a step when suddenly, he seemed to remember something, and doubled back.

"Ichigo–"

It was no surprise that the thing he forgot was the kiss.

Breaking away, he whispered, "Don't die, all right?"

And then he was off.

She stared at his disappearing back before taking another door seven doors down the corridor. One really had to know these buildings well. It was a shame that getting out, for her, would probably be hell.

Rukia readied herself for the challenge.

* * *

Ichigo followed all of her instructions perfectly, and, even as he saw the balcony in front of him, didn't even hesitate to jump over. From far away, he could see the tops of other buildings, but thought that he couldn't be that high up. He'd gone to the 13th floor and up five flights, so wouldn't that put him on the 18th floor?

His heart jumped to his throat as gravity pulled him down.

18 stories, his ass.

This was more like _fifty_.

But even through all his sudden thoughts, Ichigo remembered what Rukia told him, and angled his body straight down. The wind rushed by his ears and drowned out all the sound; he was barely able to see and falling fast.

If he died today, he wouldn't regret it much.

The roofs of buildings shot past…

He could see people working…

Wow…he could make out individual people on the street now.

Just as this thought crossed his mind, he felt someone come up behind him and wrap their arms around his chest from behind; he looked back and saw her.

"Rukia!"

"Point your body straight down, and prepared to take some pressure!" she yelled over the rush of wind. But he already suspected what was to happen then, especially since her black feathered wings were already summoned. Right now, they were just folded for maximum falling acceleration…presumably so that she could catch up with him.

"All right!" he yelled back, and then, just as the street rushed up further and further, Rukia's wings spread out to their full length, jerking his body from the sudden directional change. But she beat her wings desperately, flying up and up and out of the sight of humans, the sound of the beaten air loud against his ear.

And thus, they flew on.

They flew and flew, and soon Ichigo got used to the feeling and even began to enjoy it. However, they flew well out of the city and over many more, never pausing, flying high as so to avoid visibility but low enough so that Ichigo could still breathe the thin air. It seemed almost an hour before Rukia banked forward, coming to land on a deserted street.

Ichigo rolled his head on his neck, stretching his legs and arms, as his feet finally touched ground. He couldn't recognize the surroundings. "Where are we?"

"Saitama."

"Saitama? Why here?"

"I have another small place here that no one knows about…I come here when I want to escape from my duties, and other things." She pulled him along the quiet street, so small that there weren't even any lights. Letting the both of them in through a bamboo door (which looked suspiciously like a side entrance), Ichigo found himself in a small garden with an equally small house just beyond.

"Come on, quickly…we shouldn't stay out."

"Yeah." He followed her inside. The décor and furnishings was traditionally Japanese, complete with wooden and tatami flooring, and it was composed of only a bedroom, an eating room, and a closed room that was most likely the bathroom.

In the foyer, Rukia sat, taking off her shoes. Her back was to him so that he could not see her expression, but the minute shaking of her hand told him all he needed to know.

"Rukia…"

"Don't say it. Don't say what you're thinking. I know you're thinking that it wasn't worth it, but it was, and I don't care what happens now."

"Sure you don't. Rukia, do you realize what just happened?"

"Of course I do."

"You're a traitor now."

"Yes."

"And you know I was trying to avoid this."

"I knew it then, and I know it now. I'm sorry."

"What are you sorry for?"

"For messing this up."

"How have you done that?"

"I don't know…by…dragging you into this."

"I came voluntarily."

"At least you can go back."

"No, I can't," Ichigo said, coming down to sit next to her. "In case you've forgotten, the camera was still rolling when we played out our little drama, and I…I hugged you back. The hunters will notice. I'm finished, too."

"So what are we now?" Rukia asked, a small smile coming to her face, most likely thinking of all the ironies plaguing the situation. "You are a traitorous hunter, I am a traitorous vampire, together, with no foreseeable future except that in death?" Suddenly her eyes looked overbright. "I didn't want this to happen to you, Ichigo…"

"Rukia, stop it. Don't think of things like that." Ichigo tipped her chin up to look directly into her eyes. "We'll make this okay, Rukia. We've both suffered the hardest times of our lives. As I keep saying, what's done is done. We can just face tomorrow and hope that it'll be better than today."

"Ichigo…"

"No more talking," he said, and suddenly his voice was low, fingers moving down the skin of her arm. She was so close, and for the first time in days, he was free to embrace her back. "Do you realize, Rukia…how long it's been since I last was able to touch you?"

"Haah…" Rukia expelled her breath. "A week?"

"Feels longer than that…"

It wasn't the best place or the best of times, but there in the foyer of Rukia's house, on the hard wood floor, Ichigo gave in to the one desire that had been tugging at him for too long. To have Rukia again. To see her smile, to feel her against him, to know that he was the cause of her happiness. All these things, he had waited and wished…and even if the perfect time did not present itself, well, he would make one.

The darkness was all-enclosing as she pressed her soft body against his, pliant and willing…and even as his hands snaked up her soft skin and his lips descended on hers, there was already so much emotion in him that it could not be expressed by a simple human touch.

Past lust, past passion, past desire. Love. Love in its truest sense, in the one rapacious need of a person beyond the mere physical, to know you can hold a heart and a soul in the palm of your hand…

Their fingers interlaced, palms pressing together, and they were one.

* * *

**tsuzuku**


	19. His Aura, Her Aura

One dollar is about 103.5 yen (in this story). Since I have a bit of reference to money, dollar quotes are in parentheses (since ff . net won't let me use brackets...>:-/ )

"hime," "hime-sama": both mean "princess," and is the pet name Ishida uses towards Orihime (in this story) as well as the pet name Chizuru uses (in the anime).

This fic is rated R because of language, violence, and sensuality. If any of the aforementioned offends you, please do not read.

Review if you like. No flames, please.

* * *

**kaerichi  
****Chapter 19**

**

* * *

**

"Ichigo…"

He let out a sleepy grunt, but otherwise remained the same.

"Ichigo, come on!" Rukia said with a laugh in her voice, and she pushed against him so that he would wake up. Her hands gently swept up his stomach, and when he stretched, she could see every one of his ribs straining against his skin.

"Good morning, you," she said. "Someone was sleeping well."

"Have you been awake long?"

"No. I was just watching you." She sat up, pulling up the bedsheet as well to preserve her modesty. After their rather…passionate…night in the foyer, they'd finally made it to the real bed to fall asleep as soon as their heads hit the sheets. Actually, her bed was just a thick mattress on the floor. Since there was no headboard or anything of the sort, Ichigo sat up against the wall. The bedsheet pooled around his waist and Rukia tried not to let her eyes linger lower. Ichigo noticed, and he smirked.

"See something you like?"

"Oh, shut up," she said, acting mildly miffed, and it wasn't until Ichigo pulled her to him that she relented. She came, pulling the bedsheet as weak sunlight streamed in from the high window next to the bed.

"So."

"So…" she repeated. "I guess this is where we talk?"

"Better now than later," Ichigo shrugged. "I'm actually surprised we had a peaceful night. We've got both sides of powerful organizations after us with extreme amounts of resources. Seems kind of unreal, huh? I guess when you look at it that way, it looks pretty hopeless."

"We could always leave Japan."

"We could."

"But they'd probably be watching the docks and airports."

"Yeah…and…"

She blinked up at him, at his sudden regretful face. "Ichigo?"

"I don't know, it's stupid, but…" he mussed his hair, and turned his eyes from her, "I just think that I'm leaving my family somehow. I know I am, and I don't regret it, but I just wish this all could've happened without hurting my family, y'know?"

"I know how much you love your sisters," she said, and she laid her head on his shoulder.

"Yeah, but they know me better than anyone…I just hope they don't worry much."

She was quiet.

"What are we going to do, Ichigo?"

"Do? I don't know," he said. He sighed into her hair, the dark strands silky soft under his mouth. "For one thing, is it even safe to go out yet?"

"But weren't the hunters learning to track an aura? If they are, we're dead if we stay here."

"You're right…they were. That's how we found out that international meeting of vampires that night," Ichigo reminisced, "you remember…oh."

"Yes, I remember," she said, smiling a little ruefully at his tact. "How could I forget that night? The hunters killed so many international vampires, and then Hitsugaya was almost killed, and that was the first night I met you…"

"…"

"…so where should we go? We can't got anywhere…unless maybe you could return to the hunter's base…"

"Rukia, no. I'm not leaving."

"…all right…thank you…" she said, feeling touched. "But we should have a plan of action for living and moving around, if we want to stay alive. Things might die down after a while. We won't know until then."

"What about money?" Ichigo suddenly asked. "I'm not asking to be petty, but I don't think I'll be able to gain any access to my money. The base will probably be watching all of my savings and other earnings, if I try to withdraw it all."

"No, that's okay. How much did you get paid as a hunter?"

"All captains are paid a salary of 160,000 yen ($1,540) every two weeks, plus bonuses for each successful mission and for each successful challenge."

"Challenge?"

"When I fight a vampire one-on-one and I win. The vampire's abilities are later judged by these people in the hunter's base, and depending on what level they judge the vamp to be, that's how much we get paid in the bonus. Remember when I told you about Yamamoto, that vamp that gave me a lot of trouble to kill because of his instant-movement ability, or something?"

She nodded.

"That bonus was _huge_ – almost 2,000,000 yen ($19,300)."

"2,000,000 yen? Really? You get paid that much?"

"Yeah."

"How can the hunters afford it?"

"We have rich…patrons, so to speak, who have it in their interest to see vampires defeated. They give monthly donations. And also, all the lower-level hunters have day jobs as well as night jobs, and they have to give most of their earnings to base."

"Why?"

"Because they live in the building, so they get free housing, free food, they get trained, and if their families are into it, there's free schooling."

"Oh…I see."

"And that's why we're able to finance a very well-equipped research station as well." Ichigo sighed, and looked up at the wall. "But we captains are the only ones who _get_ paid from base. After all, fuck it, we risk our lives every goddamn night, plus think up the night's strategies and keep our unit functional…we _should_ get paid."

"Hn."

"What about the vampires?"

Rukia shrugged. "You're a vampire, you have a long life. There's no set process of finances like with your hunters…we don't get paid for being rank-level. That's just prestige everyone wants. But when you have eternity ahead of you, coupled with supernatural abilities, the things you can do to get money are pretty vast."

"Like what? Rob a bank?"

"Well, those are only the desperate ones, and normally either the elder or leader council will punish those who try that. After all, we're for trying to upkeep the human peace, too, you know."

Ichigo let out something that sounded like a cross between a laugh and a snort.

"But as for our finances, right now, we should be okay. All my liquid assets are worth about 4.7 billion yen ($45,410,000)," she said, ignoring Ichigo's sudden exclamation. "…that should be enough to keep us going for a while. I earn money from them monthly, and since other vampires don't meddle with my money, I don't think they'd be able to track us via my finances."

"But…but…" Ichigo sputtered, "_4.7 billion yen_?"

"Yes. That's another thing about defeating a vampire of the leader council. Since they're defeated – dead, meaning – and have no relatives, you get to claim all their property and assets – unless there's a will around somewhere, which of course there wasn't. Kaien, I swear, he must've been around since goddamn creation with all the things he owned. I gave some of his things to Hitsugaya and Renji, just because it was too much."

"Really? What did he own?"

"Several mansions and apartment complexes in America, several houses in Japan, a few buildings around France and London, a China-based taxi service, and a mansion or two up in Quebec and Montreal. I don't know exactly what all of it is, but that should be the most of it. And of course, I gave a lot away. At the time I won his position, I was living low-key, and having so much money all at once made me…uncomfortable."

Ichigo leaned forward to brush his lips with her cheek. "I didn't know you were worth so much, Rukia."

"Does it make a difference?"

"No."

Silence.

"Is that all we had to talk about?"

"Guess so, eh?"

"No, it isn't…we still didn't talk about what we're going to do."

"Live?"

"Besides that, Ichigo."

"Try to get on the best we can, and try to avoid vampires and hunters alike."

"You make it sound so easy," Rukia grumbled lightly. "It's like, 'Oh, the hunters are after us, let's run this way' and then 'Oh, the vampires are after us now. We're dead.' It won't be that simple, you know."

He let out a wry smile at her words and leaned forward. "You have this incredible ability to overcomplicate things further than how they should be regarded," he said. "I know we're in a dire situation…but like I said before, what good will come out of worrying?" He brushed his nose against hers as he said so.

"Well, nothing, I guess," she admitted grudgingly, "it's just that I always want to be prepared in case anything happens…"

Ichigo rolled his eyes, but smiled. "Just remember what I said, Rukia. One step at a time, nah? Gotta learn to walk before you can run."

She nodded slowly.

"And now that that's all over with…want to take a shower first?"

"Oh…sure, I suppose."

They sat there, and she huffed.

"Well, could you at least _pretend_ to look away?"

"Why?" he smirked.

"Ichigo!" Rukia threw her pillow at him.

"All right, all right, I can take a hint," he said, dodging the pillow. However, when he looked back up, she was already gone.

* * *

Ishida's head was buzzing as he left the meeting room. Similarly, Orihime, walking next to him, was equally silent. He took her hand, and led her up to the roof of the hunter's building, where the bright sunshine contrasted horribly with his current bleakness of thought.

Orihime was the first to speak.

"I wonder…who ever thought it would come to this?"

"I didn't," Ishida shook his head. "I thought that Kurosaki would work it out somehow, be able to satisfy himself with it being a secret…the idiot. What the hell was he thinking, bringing his relationship with that vampire into the light?"

"Kurosaki-kun couldn't help it," Orihime defended him. "I mean, he was going to be executed! What else could he do but embrace back the one person who stood up for him? And besides, he was in love with her too!"

"I know, hime-sama, but…to end up where they are now…"

She fell silent at that.

"I never would have believed the words 'Kurosaki' and 'traitor' would ever be synonymous in the same sentence," Ishida said in a hollow voice. However, Shihouin Yoruichi's voice came floating back to him, the works unmistakable in her previous speech.

That had been a welcoming meeting for the five new appointed captains…as well as briefing for the situation dealing with Kurosaki Ichigo-taichou. Ishida had stood up for his friend. They couldn't judge just by one embrace, he'd argued. That went against morals and the principle of faith!

The only principle at work here is seeing is believing, Yoruichi had told him quietly.

The rest of the captains seemed to side with her. Only three others sided with him: his girlfriend and new captain of the twelfth unit division, Inoue Orihime (a fact for which Ishida had mixed feelings), Kyouraku Shunsui, captain of the first unit division, and last of all, newly-instated captain of the ninth unit division, Aizen Sousuke, a soft-spoken man of character. Ishida had immediately liked him.

However, four captains against nine others, plus Yoruichi and Ichimaru, had not been enough to change anybody's mind.

"But still…to think that they're going to track down Kurosaki-kun…" Orihime broke into his thought. "I…I don't want him to get hurt."

"Hime-sama…Kurosaki is too good at this game already to get hurt."

"You think so?"

"I was his best friend for years. I _know_."

"But being in love is the most wonderful feeling in the world, and I should know something about that," she said, looking very seriously at him only a foot away. "No one should ruin that for anyone. Does it matter who falls in love with who? In the end, you still have the same feelings for the person, right?"

"Hime…Kuchiki's a vampire."

"I know! And I used to hate vampires too, for what they did my brother…but Kuchiki-san can't be all that bad if Kurosaki-kun fell in love with her!"

"I know, hime-sama," he said, and pulled her close as he leaned against the balcony railing. From this height, more than fifty-two stories up, the walk below was so small that the individual people moving looked smaller than ants. "But just because we've come to a newer understanding of vampires in no way means that the same has come for other hunters. After all, you and I both hated vampires with good reasons."

"I know, but Uryuu…"

"I guess it doesn't really matter," he said, stroking her arm softly. Orihime wasn't going to take this well, he knew, just because she worried about everyone too much…and Kurosaki was one of her best friends. "She's a vampire. The most we can hope for is that they'll be able to escape beyond detection, or that something more urgent comes up that needs the base's attention…though for the life of me, I don't know what that would be."

Orihime was silent for a second. "Uryuu…do you think we'll ever see them again?"

"We can hope for the right situation, hime, we can hope." He turned his face back to the wind. Why did things have to be so complicated? Why couldn't Kurosaki have found himself a nice hunter girl to settle down with, have a family, and raise hunter kids? Why did it have to be a vampire? Why had Ishida somehow _always_ known that Kurosaki was a paradox in all meanings of the word?

He sighed. These thoughts were taking him nowhere, and in addition, they were causing him and his girlfriend severe depression.

"Oh, by the way, hime-sama…I never did get to say congratulations properly."

"Thank you, Uryuu," she smiled up at him. "You were the one who helped me train for the position, so of course anyone would get it if you were helping them."

Shaking his head, he buried his nose in her hair. "Just don't die, all right?"

The words were not hers exclusively. Instinctively, she understood this…and whispered out to the sky:

"_…please, whatever you do, please don't die._"

* * *

"You mean your leader flat-out told you all of this?"

Rukia nodded slowly. "That's just Urahara-san's way of doing things. He doesn't beat around the bush like other people I know…straight to the point, that's how he is. It's the most probable reason why he has the top seat in Japan right now."

"But this is life-changing shit and all!"

"I always knew there had to be a reason why I wasn't like other vampires," Rukia shrugged, eyes faintly recalling a memory. "I finally know the reason now, and I guess it's better than being naïve about it. Urahara-san told me the same thing."

Ichigo kissed her before replying. "Well, I _definitely_ know how you feel. Learning that I had – Kaien's – soul as part of mine wasn't exactly old information." He looked uncomfortable at the mention of the name.

"Don't worry, you can say his name without hesitating. I'm okay with it now."

"Really?"

"Really."

"Well, if you say so."

"But back to what you were saying…I know, I didn't even have an inkling of thought about that. And I suspect that I would've never known if you hadn't been in base that day, waiting to be executed."

"You mean, if you hadn't protected me."

She nodded, and put her hand against the side of the boat to lean on. Ichigo had rented them a boat in the park, and was currently rowing with slow, lazy strokes on the placid lake. A little ways away, a few fish jumped out of the water with a splash.

"Are these things detectable by blood?"

"What, a vampire's soul?" Rukia asked.

"Yeah."

"Of course, because there's a special aura in your blood that allows you to be comfortable with your reflexes and heal as fast as you do. You're just like me – you have a special aura, different from anyone else's. Hm. I always wondered why I could sense you the easiest out of all the other hunters…"

Ichigo had gone rigid across from her, stopping all movement. The boat glided forward a few paces before gently coming to a stop. Rukia turned her eyes to him, worry evident. "Ichigo? Something the matter?"

"You said these things – the aura – is detectable by blood, right?"

"Yes. Most definitely." The look on his face was beginning to scare her…

"You're sure."

"Yes. That's why when I was rescued from the hunter base, Urahara-san had to go and find the sample of my blood that you took, and he destroyed it. Since your soul is the assimilation of both a vampire and a human's, I'd say that your aura is clearly disgintuishable, moreso than even a vampire's. In that aspect, you're a liability. Both halves of your soul are so distinct that it's easy to separate them."

"Aw…_fuck_." Ichigo swore loudly. "Rukia, we have to go back to the hunter base."

"What? Why?"

"All hunters, upon assignment to any unit division or captain's title, are required to give blood just as part of the determining process. This blood is kept for a while because if you're a good hunter, chances are the lab people will try to mix genes and produce test-tube babies, all of which will have "superior," specially chosen genes."

"You're making _test-tube babies_?" Rukia asked him, with a horrified look on her face.

"That's what the Development Department does, among other things. They make weapons and mess around with the true workings of humankind. But anyway," he said, waving a hand absently, "that's not what I'm talking about! What I'm saying is that they have my blood! If they study it, wouldn't they be able to decode it just like they were trying to with yours?"

"Your blood, the aura…" Rukia whispered. "…if they were able to distinguish the aura, then all of the aura-seeking weapons that the hunters use against the vampires…"

"…would be even more efficient, towards our individual auras especially," Ichigo finished her thought.

They sat in dismal silence.

"But…we don't owe it to anyone to save the vampires, or the hunters…" Rukia then said softly. "I…I might not want my friends to die, but I don't have an obligation to risk my own life for them, either. I guess if you look at it that way, we don't have to go back to your base…"

"Rukia, right now, they don't care about them. Right now, they want _you_. I might be a traitor but the hunters probably think that it was you who led me astray, and if anything, they'll want revenge." He shook his head slowly. "They'll use the aura to come after you, and then they could use it to even come after me…Rukia, I don't want that to happen to you."

"But Ichigo, what can we do?" Why was this happening? If they didn't have enough things to deal with, now _this_…?

"It would be impossible to attack the base just by ourselves. And we have no allies. Even though we're strong I doubt both of us, together, would be able to stand a chance of getting in and out of the hunter base alive."

"My friends did it!"

"Well, yes, they did, but those were very high-level vampires, and even they had to bring a horde in order to make it past the first floor. They used massive numbers. If we do go in, we'll need stealth."

His eyes met hers.

"...we have to, don't we." Rukia asked him.

She sounded weary, defeated.

"Yeah."

"No other choice?"

"Yeah."

"…plan of attack?"

"I'll make one."

Rukia nodded, and Ichigo motioned for her to come to the middle of the boat, where he wrapped his arms around her in a strong embrace. Her eyes closed against his shoulder as his lips kissed her hair, her ear, her cheek…all very slowly, very gently, in a reassuring sort of manner.

"Ichigo…"

"Hn?"

"We have to do this, right? It's our last loose end."

He nodded. "The hunters will have no other samples of aura – _our_ aura – if we do."

"Yes…we have to."

That was what she said, but why did she suddenly feel as if she had just signed her death warrant?

* * *

"So, if all goes according to this plan, then we should be able to have a ten-minute interval in which we can both search. You take this corridor and I'll take this one." Ichigo pointed to some random place on the crude map he'd drawn, and since Rukia had never physically seen the place before, she'd just have to rely on memory.

"So…down this corridor," Rukia drew with her finger, "then a left, then up, and you say I'd have to go through the ventilation shaft in this room?"

"Yeah. And you'll have to rely on your memory for that. Not even I know the entire layout of the system."

Rukia nodded, eyes scanning the map once more. Time was of the essence here – since the hunters already knew that Ichigo had a vampire's soul, they wouldn't waste any time in trying to study his blood. For Rukia's sake, and for the sake of all the vampires in the world, they had to stop it before things grew too out of hand.

Later in the day they took a taxi by the hunter base. It was one of the tallest buildings in the district, and from the outside it was all mirror plates and steel – a business building. The "businesses," however, were few, and almost the entire thing was a farce just to disguise their base.

Ichigo spoke to her in low tones, gesturing; she listened and nodded. The scenes flashed before her eyes.

"Ichigo?"

"Yeah?"

"You aren't going to die on me?"

He blinked. That had come out of nowhere, but he supposed it was a genuine concern of hers. Leaning back against the taxi, his arm came out to slip around her. She was warm, and just touching her reminded Ichigo of the reason why he was all doing this – and it forever validated it, for him.

"Of course not. We're both gonna be fine."

"What if they catch us?"

"Then we go together."

"What if they catch just one of us? You can't win against everybody."

"Rukia, stop thinking. You're on that same self-destructive thought path that never does you any good," Ichigo said. His fingers gently closed her lips when she opened them in some kind of retaliation. "Seriously. No more talk about things like that."

She looked up at him with her impossibly clear violet eyes, the bearer of excessive heartache and sorrow, and something in him softened at the sight. There was only so much pain from her that he could take without a reaction, and this was well over his limit. Ichigo bent his head until his forehead touched hers.

"Rukia…don't worry. No matter what, I'll protect you."

And when she shifted up to touch her lips to his, he knew that he'd done enough to stymie her fears for now.

"…thank you, Ichigo…"

* * *

**tsuzuku**


	20. What Started It All

Kelocena: it validated the reason (for him). In other words, just knowing Rukia existed might not have been enough of a reason to turn traitor for other people, but for Ichigo, it was _because_ he knew she existed that his reason for turning traitor was validated. Hm. How long-winded. hahaha ;-p

SORRY for taking so long with this chapter; but I'm sure most of you can be sympathetic, 'cause my reason is very, very understandable: school is a _b!tch_. However, with midterms through, I'm free and clear for the next couple of weeks! Yayeeeeeeeeee :-D

This fic is rated R because of language, violence, and sensuality. If any of the aforementioned offends you, please do not read.

Review if you like. No flames, please.

* * *

**kaerichi  
Chapter 20**

* * *

Their attack had started off relatively well. Rukia managed to suppress her aura enough so that she was virtually undetectable, acting the part of a regular human businesswoman. And for his part, Ichigo had to sneak in, using a maze of complicated sewer passages that would lead to the plumbing and eventually to a room where he'd then be able to roam freely.

"I look weird," Rukia had said, in reference to the blond wig she'd put on to disguise her face. "This is not my color at _all_."

"Just be glad you can change your hair color at all," Ichigo grumbled in reply. "Besides, I think it looks good on you."

She snorted, and looked away.

That had been the beginning. Rukia managed to weasel her way through the hunter security by acting as a newly-recruited hunter who didn't know how to get inside the building. Fortunately, she had always had uncanny good control with aura suppression, so masking even the slightest trace to pass through their aura detectors was relatively easy. However, she couldn't use her aura to "seduce" the security guards' wills, because then the detectors would go off like crazy. In any case, she got away from them quickly lest they recognized her.

Getting in was easy; making her way around wasn't. She was just relying mentally on the map Ichigo had drawn for her, and they had purposely planned this plan of attack during noon – the point where most hunters either slept or relaxed, and kept out of their duties. Therefore, Rukia encountered little foot traffic as she kept going on.

She kept going and going, following Ichigo's directions. And she was very close to the room where Ichigo suspected the hunter blood samples were kept, one of three…she was so close she could see the door, just a few meters away.

And then the moment she'd been waiting for had happened.

"Alert! Hunter alert! There's a trespasser down in sector 14-E, fifth floor! Suspected trespasser is Kurosaki Ichigo, so be on the lookout and I want all members at your posts!" A blaring voice came out over the loudspeaker, and Rukia cursed. A stream of guards was running towards her. In actuality, they were there to protect the door, but Rukia thought they were coming for her.

Yep, no use in hiding anymore.

Lashing out with her aura, she caught the whole front of them and knocked them flat, breaking through the laboratory door before any could regain their senses. Her eyes whisked around as panic slowly brewed.

No, there were no samples, this looked more like a library than a laboratory. For one, there was no refrigerator in the room…and if they were keeping the blood someplace, it would have to be kept cold. Muttering a short curse to herself, Rukia turned to leave the room as she hastily ripped the wig off.

There were more guards outside now, and they were all well-prepared with flamethrowers and automatic weapons hoisted on their shoulders. But none went off; only when she charged forward did artillery come her way, but she blocked it with her barrier and used shunpa to dodge. She raced past the throng of confused hunters, leaping easily over them with her aura-infused legs, and getting out of their line of fire as quickly as possible.

Cursing louder, Rukia extended her aura so that she could feel out Ichigo's. It surprised her that she found it easily, but apparently Ichigo had, like her, decided that further discretion was useless. He was a couple of floors below her, most likely checking out the other of the two rooms.

She had to find him in order to get out. Of course, Rukia knew the way out by the map, but there was no way in hell she was going to leave Ichigo behind – even if that meant they both got caught. Breathing in and out as she ran up floors, the rush she got from her shunpa reminded her that she was in a real situation…one where most odds were against her.

And as she finally dashed up the corridor, following Ichigo's aura and predicting their meeting point, she was across of him in a long bright corridor.

"Ichigo!"

"Rukia, good, you're there, now we need to–"

And suddenly, he stopped talking as two more people burst from an adjacent corridor, nearly bumping into the stainless steel wall. Ichigo's eyes widened in recognition, and Rukia halted for just a second. Ichigo was on one side, she on the other. There was no way that they'd be able to meet, not with the two hunters standing battle-ready in between – and fighting to get past them would take precious time.

"Asano…and Ishida…" Ichigo said. Rukia noted that his eyes were suddenly hard. Why? Ichigo continued, "Asano, how the fuck did you get out of detainment? You're a fucking traitor from that time you tried to kill me!"

The sandy-haired man shrugged with a leer. "Well, oh great Kurosaki-taichou, ever since you went off your rocker Ichimaru-san said that you must've made up the accusations against me. Because, really, when have I _ever_ shown the desire to hurt the captain who garners my utmost respect?" And he bowed with an exaggerated air of propriety.

"Shut the fuck up, Asano, you know what I said wasn't a lie!"

The other man simply shrugged again, and continued grinning.

Meanwhile, Rukia was facing off against the other man who had come down the corner and interrupted them. She'd only seen him once before, that time when her friends had come to bust her out and he had been holding a weapon. Sharp green eyes narrowed behind his square spectacles as he surveyed her, never lowering or moving his gaze.

That moment was broken between them as Ichigo lunged forward, intent on killing the man who so toyed with the legitimacy of his words. Asano had not been expecting the attack, and the hand on the flamethrower at his shoulder, matched with his human reaction rate, was far too slow to match Ichigo-Kaien's aura.

Ichigo got him right across the face. Asano reeled back; the dark-haired man – Ishida, his name was? – had to move quickly otherwise he'd have been bowled over. But Asano got up, spitting blood, and aiming his weapon. Rukia dodged the spectacled hunter and lunged, this time catching Asano across the back in a hit so vicious that she knew at once his backbone had broken. At the same time, Ichigo punched forward with a solid landing to his stomach. Asano sank to the ground without so much as a scream.

Rukia stood over him to watch the agony unfold on his face. No doubt about it. He was going to die. Her hit had cracked his spine in two and Ichigo's blow had caused severe internal damage. If he were a vampire he might have made it. Her lip curled at the thought.

Ichigo straightened to look the other hunter in the eye.

"Well, Ishida? Where's the horde of backup I'm sure you called for?"

The other man just continued meeting his gaze, saying nothing, not blinking. Ichigo knew they had no time for a standoff, but this just seemed to be unfolding without the limitations of escape restraining him.

It seemed to stretch on for what must have been only a minute, but felt like an hour according to Rukia's panic alarm. And yet, innately, she knew that this was something she could not interrupt.

Ishida spoke then, coolly and calmly. "I did not call for backup. Unless Orihime gives away your location via the security system, no one knows you are here in this precise location."

Rukia glanced at him.

"I'll have you know, Kurosaki Ichigo, you've caused a lot of trouble for this base by doing what you've done. These are things you can't change. They're also things you can never take back. But by following the path you believe is right, even should that path be heavily oppressed, I commend you for your fortitude."

She and Ichigo just continued to watch him. The time went on for another moment or two when suddenly Ishida broke eye contact and gave an unexpected, rueful smile.

"But then again, you've always been an unpredictable bastard."

At that, the corner of Ichigo's lip curled up. In the stroke of an instant, the atmosphere in the room went from crushing and defensive to almost lighthearted. Just by looking at Ichigo's face, somehow Rukia knew then that they would be okay.

"Ishida, you jackass, you really had me going for a minute there," Ichigo said, coming forward to punch his shoulder in a gesture of greeting. "But then again, you've always been a flowery bastard." He grinned, and Ishida smiled back.

"This is not the time for talk," Ishida said as he turned to look around them. "Even without my signaling so, other hunters will be coming up here soon. And I know they have already closed off other sections. It is best that you leave, now."

"But…Ichigo, did you find…?" Rukia asked the unanswered question. Had Ichigo found the blood samples, or would this infiltration all amount to nothing…?

"Yeah, I found them. They're all messed up and useless now because I poured a whole heckuva lot of cleaning detergent in 'em. Hope no one drops a match in there," he said, grinning. "Should go up better than a firework."

Ishida nodded. "Good. Then your mission is accomplished. Go out the way you were planning; I'll try to hold off any hunters that come this way for as long as I can. Now hurry and go, before something else happens." He cast a pointed look down at Asano's body, already dead on the floor. "Go on, hurry."

Ichigo nodded and, catching her wrist, propelled them both down the long corridor. But he stopped to give one last look to his friend – Rukia had figured out that they must have been very good friends – and for his final word.

"Hey, Ishida…"

"Hn?"

"…thanks."

Ishida smiled and waved his hand dismissively.

Ichigo snorted at the gesture.

"And you say I never say thank you…" the orange-haired former captain muttered. Tightening his hold on her wrist, Ichigo then dashed down the hall at a speed Rukia had no trouble following. Sights and rooms flashed by her eyes, but she hardly noticed them. And they were moving too fast for her to recall the map; Rukia just trusted in Ichigo's judgment.

"Who was that guy?" she asked him over the wind rushing past.

"A friend of mine," Ichigo said back. "Good guy – arrogant asshole – but a good guy."

Rukia allowed a smile to cross her face at his words.

The hunters they ran into after that were small and not of captain rank. They were defeated relatively easily and Ichigo and Rukia were able to move on, making good progress. So far they'd been running for nearly ten minutes straight, and there was still no end to the maze of twists and turns Ichigo was leading her on.

Suddenly he whipped her out of sight and into another small room, which led to a smaller corridor and another room. This room was dark, but there was a glass balcony, and beyond it Rukia could see the Tokyo city lights. A lavishly furnished room, it was painted in cool cream colors with handsome leather couches and a plush carpet under her feet.

However, Ichigo and Rukia noticed none of it in that one instant.

And that was due to the solitary figure in the room, obviously waiting for them: Yoruichi.

Ichigo halted right in his tracks, and the hand on her arm seemed to tighten until Rukia was sure he would've been bruising her wrist, had she been human. Her own breathing had stopped. It wasn't until Ichigo exhaled loudly did she notice.

"…Shihouin-san…" Ichigo said guardedly, stepping in front of her, "I do not know what you are doing here, but I can tell you that…I won't let you take Rukia back. I'll fight you to the death if I have to." His hand tensed, and Yoruichi finally looked at him. She had been staring outside at the crescent moon, the side profile of her face somehow holding back a world-weary secret and the burden of too many decisions past to change the transpired.

"Kurosaki Ichigo…" she said quietly. "…you know, I'm proud of you."

Rukia could only blink at her in stunned silence. Ichigo was doing the same.

"You weren't like me," she said, smiling a little sadly, and turning back to the moon. "You had the courage to follow through with the choices that you made, and I can see right now that you haven't regretted them. Not in the least bit."

Ichigo nodded slowly.

"It's not so often that I get to bear witness to the growth of one superb individual, though the trials and sufferings that ultimately shape a person were instrumental in your growth," she said. "You grew the most and the best…for that, I'm proud of you, Kurosaki Ichigo."

Rukia looked back and froth from Ichigo to this woman, wondering if Ichigo knew what she was talking about – she sure didn't. However, from the expression on his face, she could tell that this wasn't sinking in any further than it was for her.

The moonlight rolled and reflected off the muted velvet drapes; Rukia stared at it for an instant before realizing that it was because they were _moving_. Gently brushed aside, another figure stepped forward. This time it was Rukia to stand stock-still in recognition.

"Urahara-san!"

Ichigo was still partly in front of her, but since it seemed the dark-skinned hunter leader had no plans of attacking her, Rukia took a step forward to see her own leader better. "Urahara-san, what are you doing here?"

"The invasion alarms were already merrily blasting away when I arrived," he said, with a casual shrug. With the absence of his hat, the gesture looked particularly serious. "I had no trouble just finding my way…here."

"But…that's Shihouin Yoruichi, Urahara-san…are you going to fight?"

Urahara smiled a little over to her before turning to Yoruichi. To Rukia's amazement, from their met gazes, there was no hostility or enraged fire; it was Yoruichi's softened amber eyes that met his in a gentle understanding.

Rukia had no idea what was going on…that, or why the two highest leaders of Japan's secret war weren't killing each other on the spot. However, those thoughts and all others were abruptly shot into oblivion as Urahara stepped forward to Yoruichi, his hand coming to her back, and tipping her face up into a silent kiss.

If she had been human like Ichigo, she would've choked on her own breath too.

Suddenly it was like they weren't even in the same room. "Kisuke, you know, I've missed you all these years," Yoruichi said softly, still in his embrace.

"I know, Yoruichi. Shhh, shhh…don't say anything." And he embraced her once again before releasing her, though his hand traced her arm until they ended up connected. The crescent moon just beyond the window split them to two sides, hanging above their heads and directly above their clasped hands.

It took Rukia a while to find her voice. When she did, the only partial question that she was able to voice was: "…Urahara-san…what…?"

"I suppose this will take a bit of explaining, nah, Yoruichi?" Urahara said, turning to her. She nodded.

"Of course," she said. She was about to continue, but Ichigo cut her off.

"What the hell's going on, Shihouin-san? Why are you – with that vampire – acting like that – like a traitor – why – you…?" he sputtered, obviously unable to form a complete sentence with all the strings of his various thoughts piercing each other.

Yoruichi sighed. "Kurosaki Ichigo-san…as I'm sure you know well by now, this is no ordinary vampire. He is Urahara Kisuke, leader division main-seat holder, rightfully the most powerful vampire in Japan…and, once upon a time…he was my lover."

Well. Wasn't this peachy. Rukia blinked.

"Your _lover_?" Ichigo exploded.

"Correct," Urahara took over. "We were lovers and had been for many years, but then, unfortunately…due to youthful inexperience and misjudgment, an argument between us turned into a rift that would separate us for many of the following centuries…for the many following millenniums. An argument that would eventually spawn something else as well." He shot a look over to her, and her eyes were regretful.

"Wait, wait…centuries? _Millenniums_? Urahara-san, what are you talking about? Shihouin Yoruichi's a human; she can't survive through millenniums like we can unless she was reborn into several human lives or something…or…"

And suddenly Urahara's eyes on her were so expressive, Rukia gasped.

"Or unless…"

Urahara nodded.

Ichigo was lost. "What? Unless what? Rukia, what's going on?"

"…unless she was a vampire all along…" Rukia whispered, hands coming to her mouth in disbelief.

At her words, Ichigo's head shot to his former leader. The silence, like a blanket over the conversation, was suddenly almost suffocating. For a good minute, all Rukia could do was just stand there with her mind a slate of blank thoughts.

And finally, Ichigo spoke. "You mean…Yoruichi-san…you're a _vampire_?"

"Yes," she acknowledged. "As…as Kisuke has just told you, we were lovers a long time ago. Originally we were part of a tribe now known to history as the Ainu, the first people to move to Japan. Back in those days, contact between other people and faraway tribes were few and far in between. Vampirism was like a whisper of a myth. It seemed impossible.

"And yet, even as we settled down and prospered, it came from somewhere. I doubt anyone shall ever know the first true roots of vampirism. In any case, it came to Japan, to where Kisuke and I were living together…and Kisuke became a vampire."

She turned her face to the floor, hidden in the shadow. "Those first few days were frightening. You know newborn vampires cannot go out into sunlight, and in those days, it was only by Kisuke's farming a field that we were able to eat at all.

"However, he soon grew used to it, and even began to like the "bonuses" of being a vampire, like the faster speed and the heightened vision…and the healing rate. He figured out by himself that he had become an immortal. And because of this, one day, Kisuke told me he wanted to make me a vampire too."

She stopped. Even from this distance, Rukia could see how hard her hand was squeezing Urahara's. Therefore, he took up the story.

"To make a long story short, she resisted," he said softly, softer than Yoruichi had been speaking. "She didn't believe in eternal life, she didn't want to live for an eternity, she just wanted to be normal. I was…distraught at her reaction. At the time, she was the only thing I had in the world, and I was determined to keep her. Because of that…"

At this point, he too broke off to take an unnecessary breath, then resumed.

"Remember when I talked of youthful inexperience and misjudgment? That was I. Too blinded by my unrequited want of having Shihouin Yoruichi for eternity, we argued, and I mistakenly bit her during a surge of bloodlust I had not yet previously encountered."

He nodded at Ichigo and Rukia's shocked faces. "Yes, it was as you suspect. That turned her into a vampire. In addition, Yoruichi had been pregnant, the circumstances of which were unknown to me…and because of her turn from living to the dead, she lost the baby. Of course. As would have been expected." He cast a look at Rukia. And it seemed he was going to speak again, but Yoruichi cut him off.

"After he bit me, I could not forgive him. I wondered how he could say he loved me so much and yet do such a thing against my will. I wondered if the other vampires were brainwashing him. I wondered if I could stop it. I gathered a few of my human friends, talked of "demons," and organized a hunting party.

"At the time, Kisuke couldn't believe I had organized a party for the deliberate eradication of what he now considered "his race." I told him he was being stupid; that he was and would always be human. We argued again, and the rift grew deeper and wider.

"Eventually, some of the other villagers noticed the "special abilities" of the other vampires, and they began to organize special teams of people to hunt them. And when...others...learned of this kind of work we had going on for the hunting of vampires, eventually word spread, as did the practice of killing." She stopped.

However, Rukia understood, as unbelievable as it seemed. "…you mean that the argument between Urahara-san and yourself was the beginning of formation of hunters in the civilized world, right?"

Silence.

"Correct," Yoruichi said.

Silence.

"I can't believe this. I can't fucking _believe_ this!" Ichigo raged, throwing up his hands and pointing accusatory fingers at his former leader. "You've been a vampire all this time and yet you lead the hunters and still love Japan's leading vampire at the same time? Weren't you the one always going on about the disgust of hypocrisy and all that fancy bullshit? What the hell did all that mean?"

"You see now why I am very proud of you," Yoruichi said quietly. "You were not like me. After the formation of the hunters in rural Japan, I felt too powerless to stop it…tried to feel that what I had done was right, even as the little nagging doubts at the back of my mind told me that something had gone all wrong. I didn't listen to that voice. You did."

She smiled a little at him. "I knew about you from the moment you enlisted; I could feel your aura. Of course, I'd known Shiba Kaien, a little distantly, but his soul was unmistakable. At the same time, I thought that you would be a valuable asset to the hunters. Over the years, this battle has become larger and bloodier than it ever has before…it was easy to convince myself that I hated the race of which I was and did not want to be. I watched over your growth, and it was superb. And somehow I'm not surprised that we are where we are today."

"Yoruichi-san…why…until now…why only now are you telling me this?"

"You weren't ready to learn it earlier," Urahara replied. "And besides, Yoruichi and I had to see whether your relationship would ever amount to anything – whether you would fight for it or whether you'd give it all up."

"Did we defy your odds?"

"In every possible way," Urahara smiled over at Ichigo's challenging look. "And by watching you come this far, you've made Yoruichi and I come to a new realization as well."

"What's that? Fight during the night but kiss during the day?"

"Don't sound so sarcastic, Kurosaki-san. No. We've decided to try and tone down our attacks upon each other…our ultimate goal is to dissolve the hunters completely, but we both know that that's nothing more than a fanciful dream. It is already too deeply ingrained, this secret war of ours, something that just cannot be wiped away from Earth's private files."

Urahara paused. "And so, at the culmination of this talk, where is this really leading? I'm sure you want to ask this…" He turned from Yoruichi, breaking the hand contact, and sliding the balcony door open. "I'm sorry to say, but this is probably the only way out of here that isn't being watched…so go. This is our apology to you both, Kurosaki Ichigo-san, Kuchiki Rukia-san, for all the transgressions you've endured under the light of our hypocrisy."

A door was open to them, a door to freedom – but now that they had it, somehow Rukia couldn't bring herself to move when there were still too many questions. "Urahara-san…?"

"I know. I know, Kuchiki-san. It's hard to accept."

"No, it's just…why didn't you tell me about Kaien before? Why did you wait until I stopped Ichigo's execution?"

"I saw no need to tell you of it before. And besides, in reference to the latter, it was just another test that Yoruichi and I saw fit to test your relationship." He smiled. "Go on. Yoruichi and I will try to keep the hunters and vampires off your trail. We'll try to keep it quiet, and try to get them to stop following you so that you can live freely and in peace. After all you've fought through…you deserve it."

Rukia's throat was too tight to speak. Slowly, her feet began to move, slowly, walking past without a word. Ichigo paused.

"Yoruichi-san…" He appeared to be fumbling for words. "Yoruichi-san, I..."

Yoruichi regarded him keenly. "Kurosaki Ichigo, I have said it three times, and will say again…I am very proud of you. You have been the best captain I have ever had the pleasure of commanding. Whatever may happen in our future, just know that Kisuke and I will always be on your side."

And Rukia watched the expression that crossed Ichigo's face, watched as he suddenly sank into a deep bow with his hands by his sides, a last gesture of untold respect. "Thank you…very much, Shihouin-san…" he said, the shadows obscuring his face.

"It is we who should be thanking you," Urahara said, as he came forward to once again take up Yoruichi's hand. "It is only because of you two that Yoruichi and I have been able to quell the misgivings of past arguments and come together once again." He smiled. "Now, go on. I can tell that other hunters are getting close."

Rukia nodded. She could feel them too.

She held out her hand. "Ichigo?"

And with a last look back, Ichigo took her hand as them jumped off the balcony together, flying down, down, straight down, until Rukia's wings gently spread and they soared off into the darkening azure sky. Soon they were no more than a speck on the horizon.

Urahara and Yoruichi stood watching them.

"They'll make it, won't they."

"Of course," Urahara agreed. "Because Kuchiki-san has Kurosaki Ichigo-san to hold her up whenever she crumbles."

Yoruichi laughed a little and turned to embrace him. "That sounds like a cheesy pickup line that you would've used on me, a long time ago."

"Maybe…" he said softly, his face drawing closer to hers, "…but now, you know, I seem to find that I don't need to."

By the time the rest of the hunters found Yoruichi, she was alone again, staring off at the sky with a gentle smile at the corner of her lips.

* * *

**tsuzuku**


End file.
